
SmitliSIder & C° GornMl. 



THE PRISONERS 



ABD-EL-KADER; 



FIVE MONTHS' CAPTIVITY AMONG THE ARABS, 



IX THE AUTUMN OF 1830. 



MONS. A. DE FRANCE, xtf tfm^ x 

TRANSLATED BY ^| 

R. F. PORTER, 



LONDON : 

SMITH, ELDER, & CO.; AND W. GRAPEL, LIVERPOOL. 
1838. 



D, MABPLES AXD CO., PRINTERS, LIVE RFOOT. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter L 

Page 

Station of the Brig " Loiret," at Arzew.— Conversation.— 
Forebodings. — Disembarkation. — We are surprised by 
the Arabs. — I am made Prisoner. — Deliberation of the 
Arabs. — Adda. — The March. — What had become of the 
Officers and Sailors of the Brig 1 



Chapter II. 

Arrival at Old Arzew. — Detestable Repast— The Head of 
a dead Man. — Bad Treatment. — I am driven from three 
Wells. — Arrival at the Tribe of Borgia. — Repast- 
Night. — March. — The dead Man's Head again. — Arrival 
at the Camp of Abd-el-Kader 15 



Chapter III. 

The Camp of Abd-el-Kader. — The Chaous. — My Presen- 
tation to the Sultan. — Description of his Tent. — Portrait 
of Abd-el-Kader. — Conversation. — He causes me to be 
clothed. — M. Meurice. — Ruinous Condition of the Camp. 
— The Troops of Abd-el-Kader. — His Officers . . 25 



Chapter IV. 

History of Mons. Meurice. — Attack of the Arabs. — Mas- 
sacre of Mademoiselle D. — Mons. Muller wounded. — Ex- 
change. — Barbarity of the Women of the Tribe of the 
Houled Cherifs.— Consternation of Abd-el-Kader, after 
the Battle of Tafna. — Discouragement of the Arabs. — 
Prisoners sent to Droma. — Brutalities of Thirty Negroes. 
— Four Women. — Return to the Camp of Abd-el-Kader . 40 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Chapter V, 

The Camp of Abd-el-Kader. — Tents of the Infantry.— 
Tents of the Cavalry. — A Piece of Cannon. — Occupation 
of the Troops. — Manoeuvres. — History of a Deserter 
from a Foreign Legion. — Cavalry Uniform. — Infantry 
Uniform.— Prayers— Music— Cafes . . . .48 



Chapter VI. 

Two Deserters.— Coral Fishers.— Massacre of the Crew of the 
Barques " La Conception," " Le Saint Jean le Baptiste," 
and " Le Jesus et Marie." — Kindness of the Women of 
Tenez. — Three Coral Fishers sold to Abd-el-Kader,. — A 
little Cabin Boy. — He is sent to the Wife of Abd-el- 
Kader. — Recent Details respecting the Coral Fishers . 56 



Chapter VII. 

Letters to Admiral Dufresne and General Rapatel. — The 
Camp is broken up. — Order of March. — The Infantry. — 
The Baggage. — Honours paid to Abd-el-Kader. — Cavalry. 
— March. — The Camp pitched anew. — Mousthaganem. — 
The Sultan's Entry into his Camp on Horseback. — Alert- 
ness of the Arabs during the Night. — Departure. — Return 
to El-Kaala 62 



Chapter VIII. 

Delightfeil Encampment. — Favourable Position for an 
Agricultural Establishment and Water-mills.— Abd-el- 
Kader gave me a few sous to divide between Meurice 
and myself. — The Tribes come to pay their Imposts. — 
Description of the Train. — Excellent Repast. — We have 
Coffee. — Abd-el-Kader receives the three Convoys from 
Morocco. — Two Spies. — The Sultan opens the Letters of 
General Letang 73 

Chapter IX. 

The Ouet-Mina. — Abd-el-Kader imposes a Double Impost. 
—Greediness of the Arabs. — Booty. — Prisoners. — A 
young Negro Female. — Sale of Slaves. — Defections.— 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

The Uncle of Abd-el-Kader. — He refuses to submit to the 
Sultan's authority. — Discouragement of the Troops. — 
Punishment of the Rebels. — Jews sent to Mascara. — 
Insurrection of the Beni-Flitas and Kouleds. — Chelifs. 
— Expedition. — Battle. — Horrible punishment of a 
Prisoner 85 



Chapter X. 

Misery. — A Bath. — The Marabout of the Four Towers. — 
Deserted Country. — New Encampment. — Departure. — 
Mountains. — Arrival at Tekedemta. — Abd-el-Kader 
wishes to build this Town. — Letters of the Arab Prison- 
ers carried to Marseilles by General Bugeaud. — Kind- 
ness. — Description of the Ruins of Tekedemta. — Sul- 
tan's Hat. — Conversation with Abd-el-Kader. — His Pro- 
jects. — Tumult in the Camp 90 



Chapter XI. 

Discussion with Abd-el-Kader on the subject of Exchange 
of Prisoners. — Letter to General Rapatel. — Letter to 
my Family. — Frightful Night. — New Excursion to the 
Ruins of Tekedemta. — Works. — Abd-el-Kader's Pow- 
der Magazine. — The New Redoubts.— The Medal- 
Arab Jumpers in the Camp. — Arab Singers. — Hymns. 
— The Arabs and Abd-el-Kader before Civilization.— 
New Tekedemta. — Game. — March. — Garrison. — Eight 
Pieces of Cannon 114 



Chapter XII. 

Departure. — Encampment. — The Convoy of Lime. — 
Departure. — Misfortune of the Coral Fishers. — Cruel 
Separation. — Description of the Plain watered by the 
Ouet-Mina. — Shells. — Departure. — A Stag. — Encamp- 
ment— Ruins.— Arrival at Teknifil.— Report of an 
Expedition of General Letang.— The Sultan sets out 
with his Cavalry to watch his motions. — The Five Mara- 
bouts.— Funeral Ceremonies.— I contrive Chessmen and 
Cards. — Departure for Mascara 129 



vi. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter XIII, Page 

Encampment at the Gates of Mascara. — Return of the 
Sultan. — Military Honours. — Joy.— Abd-el-Kader goes 
to visit his Wife.— The Sultan's Wife.— Zaka, Chief 
Attendant, is arrested. — He is condemned to he put in 
Irons. — His Escape. — He is retaken. — Dreadful Punish- 
ment. — How Abd-el-Kader administers Justice. — Has- 
sen gives me a few Details respecting the Sultan's 
Expedition. — Falsehoods. — Letter of General Baron 
Rapatel. — Proposals of Exchange. — Reply. — Joy. — 
Grief 140 

Chapter XIV. 

Meurice falls sick. — Cold. — The Arabs make Cartridges. 
— Abd-el-Kaxler spreads the News of the Death of the 
King of the French. — Rejoicing. — War in Miniature. 
Description of the Manoeuvres. — Arrival of two Soldiers 
made Prisoners at Tlemsen. — False Intelligence. — Re- 
cital. — Arrival of Mons. Lanternier. — Misery. — Suffer- 
ings. — Cruel Treatment. — He is sent to Mascara.*— 
Despair. — Meurice's Sufferings. — Kindness of Abd-el- 
Kader 155 



Chapter XV. 

We go to Mascara. — Toussis, Doctor of the Sultan's 
Troops. — Vapour Bath, — Kindness of Mardulin.— A 
Barber cups Meurice. — Mons. Lanternier. — Horrible 
Seclusion. — Complaints, Supplications. — Return to the 
Camp. — I fall Sick. — Presents for the Emperor of Mo- 
rocco. — The Young Lions, the Panthers. — A Tame 
Lioness. — The Little Cabin Boy in the Camp. — Meu- 
rice delirious. — Abd-el-Kader refuses my Entreaties, 
and opposes Meurice's Departure for Oran . . 168 



Chapter XVI. 
We leave the Sultan's Camp. — Arrival at Mascara.— The 
Kait gives us a House. — The Interior of the House. — 
Meurice is worse. — The Barber cups me. — Mournful 
Dispute. — Meurice's Death. — Burial. — Attachment of 
Jean Mardulin 183 



CONTENTS. 



vii. 



Chapter XVII. Page 
Monsieur Lanternier is united to the other Christian 
Prisoners. — Treatment pursued in my Disease. — A 
Letter from General Rapatel. — Fleury goes to read it 
to the Sultan. — Four new Prisoners. — Thirty Beni- 
Amers. — Two are hung. — Trowsers. — History of the 
four Prisoners. — Madame Laurent. — Death of Madame 
Laforet. — Misery of the Christians. — Journey to Mas- 
cara. — Mardulin imports Drugs, which he sells to the 
Arabs. — Conversations. — Projects for a Fete. — A poor 
Negro. — Heads of fourteen Spahis before our Door. — 
Supper. — Watching. — Tales. — Return of the Italian 
Fishermen. — Account of their Life at Tekedeinta. — 
Death of one of their Companions. — The little Cabin 
Boy. — Departure from Mascara .... 196 

Chapter XVIII. 
Journey from Mascara to Miliana. — Tears shed in Memory 
of Meurice. — The Village of El-Borj. — Halt for the 
Night — Pretty Village. — House of the Kait. — Our 
Lodgings. — Tribes of the Ouet Mina. — Wealth. — Three 
Arab Women. — They mate Bread Cakes. — We pass the 
Night in a Douar. — Forced March. — Sufferings. — We 
Ascend the ChelifT. — Ruins of a Spanish Town. — Meet- 
ing with some Horsemen. — We are well treated by an Aga 
of the Plain of Miliana. — Picture. — March. — Arrival 
at the Camp of the Bey of Miliana. — The Good Coffee- 
maker. — Arrival at Miliana. — Description of that Town 21S 

Chapter XIX. 
Prison of Miliana. — Deceptions. — Delay in our Exchange. 
— Sickness. — History of the Deserter Moussa. — False- 
hoods. — Identity Discovered. — Repentence. — Departure 
for the Hadjoutes. — Return to Miliana. — Benevolence. 
— Falsehoods. — Four Heads. — Crimes of Moussa. — A 
Letter. — He is conducted to the Sultan to give an Ac- 
count of his Conduct. — What must have been his End 234 

Chapter XX. 
Cruel Condition of the Christian Deserters among the 
Arab Tribes. — Arrival of the Bey of Miliana. —Public 



viii. 



CONTENTS. 



Rejoicings. — Hope. — The Rhainadan. — Consternation 
of the Prisoners. — Horrible Situation. — The Bey pays 
his Troops. — Promise of Good Treatment. — Portrait of 
the Bey. — Arrival of the Jew Durand at Miliana. — His 
Mission to the Sultan. — M. Lanternier. — The Bey's 
House. — His Two Daughters. — Madame Laurent and 
Benedicto. — We leave Miliana 251 



Chapter XXI. 
My Companions in Misfortune. — Meurice. — The Neigh- 
bourhood of Miliana. — Journey. — Bad Weather. — Halt 
for the Night.— Cruelty of the Arabs of the Tribes of Mi. 
tidja. — The prayer of the True Believers. — Benedicto. — 
Vexation. — Projects of revenge. — The wounded Man. — 
Night. — Journey. — River. — Olive Grove. — Plain of Mi- 
tidja. — Magnificent Panorama. — Arrival at Blida. — We 
are driven from the Town. — The Tribe of the Beni- 
Messaout. — Irons. — Expectation. — Our Hut and its In- 
habitants. — Deception. — Return to Blida . . .271 

Chapter XXII. 

The Hakem of Blida. — Generous Hospitality. — Care be- 
stowed on the Sick. — Reproaches. — Excellent Supper. — 
Conversation.— The Marabout of the Beni-Kelil. — The 
Marabout of the Oxerrois. — The Ka'it, Berkassenn, Com- 
mandant of the Hadjoutis. — E vening. — Threats. — The 
Ka'it Berkassenn tries to persuade me to remain -with the 
Arabs. — Promises. — Refusal. — Kindness of the Hakem. 
— Departure. — Arrival atBoufarick. — The Captain Gas- 
tu. — The Commandant D' Erlong. — Joy. — Reception. — 
Departure. — Algiers. — My Companions in Captivity.— 
Return of Mardulin to Algiers. — Benedicto and his 
Mother .285 



Observations. 
The Arabs. — Manners. — Customs. — Character. — Arab 
Women. — Their Life. — Condition. — Diseases. — Hospi- 
tality. — Animals. — The Horse. — The Camel. — The 
Mule.— The Ass.— The Ox.— Sheep.— Goats.— Agricul- 
ture. — Temperature. — Character &c. of Abd-el-Kader 299 



CHAPTER I. 



Station of the Brig "Loiret," at Arzew. — Conversation. — Fore- 
bodings. — Disembarkation. — We are surprised by the Arabs. 
— I am made Prisoner. — Deliberation of the Arabs. — Adda. 
— The March. — What had become of the Officers and 
Sailors of the Brig. 

In writing the history of my captivity among the 
Arabs, I have no pretension of composing a lite- 
rary work : I am a sailor, and not un homme de 
lettres ; therefore, search not in this book for that 
which I have not been able to place there — elegance 
of style, harmony in the periods, a clever distribu- 
tion of matter, a brilliant colouring in the descrip- 
tions. I have suffered, I have seen, I have observed ; 
such is my book, such is all my science, such are 
all my claims upon the attention of my reader. 

Restored to liberty, I was anxious to return my 
thanks to my commanders, for the anxiety my fate 
had caused them, for the perseverance they had 
employed in rescuing me from the hands of Abd- 
el-Kader. I had expressed my gratitude to the 
persons who were interested in my fate, had told 
my friends how sensible I was to their marks of 
remembrance and their regrets, and thought there 
to limit the proof of my joy and gratitude. My com- 
manders and my friends have strongly invited me to 
collect together my remembrances, to arrange my 
b . 



2 



CHAPTER I. 



notes, and to publish them. I take advantage there- 
fore, of my stay at Paris, where the Minister of War 
has summoned me, to satisfy the desire of my friends 
and those of my superiors, by writing up this jour- 
nal of my captivity, which, perhaps, the public 
also may not read without interest; for it is true, 
and that which is true always awakens the attention 
and the curiosity. But, I repeat, I claim the in- 
dulgence of the reader for a work as rapidly exe- 
cuted as conceived. Recall to mind, in running 
over this book, that the author is a sailor, a young 
man who has dedicated his life to the service of his 
country ; that he can lay no claim to interest and 
sympathy, either from imagination or style, with 
both of which he is unacquainted, but from a sin- 
cere love of his country, and from the horrible 
treatment our enemies have caused him to surfer 
during five months of captivity. 

I have collected together facts. I have been 
witness of remarkable events among the Arabs ; 
interesting scenes have passed under my eyes, in 
their tents ; I have passed through countries un- 
known to our soldiers ; I have seen Abd-el-Kader 
near; I have followed him in many expeditions ; 
I have been able to judge of the power and influence 
of the Sultan. — I have told you what my book is. 

I shall avoid, as much as possible, hazarded 
reflections; I shall endeavour, above all things, not 
to touch upon the discussion of the system of colo- 
nisation, of pacification, or war. I am too young to 
treat of such questions ; and the number of lawyers, 
orators, and writers, who occupy themselves with 



STATION OF THE BRIG "LOIRET." 3 



these subjects, is sufficiently great. I may, there- 
fore, without difficulty, abstain from appearing in 
a debate, where my presence and my habits as a 
sailor would be quite out of place. 

The brig " Loiret" had been stationed at Arzew* 
for five months. I was on board this vessel, com- 
manded by Lieut. Roland de Chabert. The life 
we led on board was trisle and monotonous. It is 
easy to conceive the ennui we suffered, on a desert 
coast, without any kind of amusement. Our only 
pleasure was walking every day on the shore ; still 
we could not pass the advanced posts, for the Arabs 
prowled incessantly around the few houses the 
French had erected at Arzew, to endeavour to carry 
off the droves of cattle, and there was some danger 
in passing the line guarded by our troops. The 
Arabs had already attempted more than one coup- 
de-main, but they had always been repulsed with 
loss.f 

The 11th of August, 1836, we had on board the 
exercise of firing at a mark : a piece of wood, 
painted white, placed about one hundred paces 
from the beach, served as an aim. After the exer- 
cise, we received an order to hold in readiness for 

* Arzew, a seaport, between Algiers and Oran. With a few 
repairs and works, which would cost but little, it might be made 
the safest, most commodious, and easiest port of access along 
the coast. We found some stones, covered with Latin inscrip- 
tions, and a great number of gold and silver medals of the 
Roman empire : the Arabian and Spanish were more rarely 
found. 

f I have learnt that the Arabs had succeeded, in the month 
of January last, in carrying off the cattle from Arzew. 



4 



CHAPTER I. 



the morrow forty of the crew, who, joined to the 
troops of the garrison, were to reconnoitre a spring, 
situated at two leagues' distance from our advanced 
posts. I was appointed to accompany this expe- 
dition. 

While I was keeping my watch, on the evening 
of the 11th, the doctor of the ship, M. Clinchard, 
as much regarded for his talents and information 
as for his amiable and cordial character, kept me 
company. As we smoked, in walking the quarter- 
deck with long strides, according to our custom, 
" I am to be of the expedition," said the doctor to 
me ; " you must lend me your little pistols ; they 
will be of great service to me, in case of an attack." 

" I keep my pistols," replied I to him. "When 
I shall be dead, when you shall have had me sewed 
up in a flag, and thrown me into the sea, with a ball 
at my feet, I shall no longer have need of the pis- 
tols ; then, my body to the sharks, and my pistols 
to my good and brave friend Clinchard." 

" To-morrow," replied he, " your pistols will be- 
long to me." 

"How! — But I am not ill — I have not the 
cholera, Doctgr, so I fear nothing. I shall not 
take your drugs ; and as long as I shall not be laid 
on my side, or exposed to your lancet, my pistols 
will adorn my berth." 

" To-morrow night," replied Clinchard, <£ I shall 
have your pistols." 

" Old Bedouin ! Maraboot of misfortune ! Have 
you been to Syria, to the Jews, or to the Bohe- 
mians, to study sorcery and magic?" 



FOREBODINGS. 







u Xo, my poor friend ; but to-morrow, without 
doubt, you will be killed during the expedition ; 
and then your pistols will adorn my berth and 
Clinchard smiled. 

" I hope sincerely not to fall to-morrow into the 
power of the Arabs. I have faith in the future — 
you will not have my pistols; for, if I am killed, 
you will share my fate; then the weapons which 
have given rise to these prophetic pleasantries will 
fall into the hands of the first cabin-boy who will 
take the trouble to pick them up." 

Clinchard went away. He had jested ; but the 
events of the following day confirmed the predic- 
tions of the preceding evening. 

At midnight, after having finished my watch, I 
retired to bed, rejoicing in the idea of going on 
shore the following day, and of our military march 
into the interior of the country. 

The 12th, at four o'clock in the morning, M. 
Roland de Chabert, captain of the Loiret, Doctor 
Clinchard, M. Bravais, and myself, with forty of 
the crew of the vessel, went on shore, and found 
on the quay, Captain Reveroni, the commanding 
officer of Arzew. He communicated to us the order 
of General Letang, to suspend the expedition until 
he had sent us fresh reinforcements. 

As we had arranged every thing on board for 
the campaign, on which we had reckoned passing 
the day, we determined to profit by our prepara- 
tions, and to make use of our landing. 

The officers proposed going to collect the balls 
which the gunners had thrown during the practice 



6 



CHAPTER I. 



of the preceding day. The captain having granted 
our request, I went to consult the commandant of 
the place, Mons. Reveroni, upon the seasonableness 
of the project, and upon the danger there was in 
advancing into the plain, who approved very much 
of our resolution, and assured us there was no 
danger in passing the advanced posts — still, not to 
go too far from them. 

We took leave of M. Reveroni, and advanced 
into the plain. Arrived at about one hundred 
fathoms from the advanced posts, we stopped. 
We placed part of our men upon an eminence, to 
give us the signal, in case of a surprise by the 
Arabs. This precaution taken, I busied myself, 
with the rest of the sailors, in searching for the 
balls, and measuring the range of our guns. 

I was about two musquets' shot distant from the 
rest of the troop, with the captain of the ship, 
Doctor Clinchard, and two sailors, engaged in 
calculating the distance our projectiles had cast, 
when I perceived a partridge, a few paces from me. 
(I wish to acknowledge every thing, at the risk of 
incurring blame for the levity of my character and 
the fickleness of my disposition.) I hastened to 
show it to Clinchard, and to run after it, taking 
aim. 

I had scarcely advanced a few steps, when a troop 
of Arabs, issuing suddenly from the bottom of a 
ravine, from whence they watched a favourable 
opportunity of attacking our advanced posts, and 
carrying off the droves of cattle from the village 
of Arzew, pounced upon us with slackened vein, 



THE SURPRISE. 



7 



and surrounded us on all sides. Three horsemen 
advanced towards me, crying semi! semi! (friends) 
and those that followed them uttered the same 
shouts. Trusting to the favourable disposition of 
these Arabs, I turned towards the Doctor, to make 
him comprehend what they said, when one of the 
two made a movement to obtain possession of the 
musquet which I held in my hand. Then com- 
prehending the hostile intentions which the horse- 
men wished to conceal under the appearance of 
friendship, I withdrew my musquet, placed it to 
my shoulder, aimed at the Arab who had sought 
to disarm me, and struck him with a ball, which 
broke his shoulder. He let his gun, still loaded, 
fall to the ground ; he tottered, and was obliged, 
in order to prevent falling, to clasp the neck of 
his horse. I sprang to seize the gun, but two 
Arabs directed theirs at my head ; I turned to avoid 
the shot ; a ball wounded me slightly in the head, 
another passed through my shirt and glanced along 
my breast. 

I had not lost sight of the gun of the wounded 
man, and stooped down again to pick it up, when, 
feeling something rough slipping over my face, I 
placed my hands to it, and seized a cord, which 
surrounded my neck.* At the same time a violent 
shock threw me to the ground, and an Arab, who 

* These cords are twenty feet long : one of the ends is fur- 
nished with a noose, which series to make a running knot; 
the other with an iron hook. The Arabs use them for dragging 
from the field of battle the bodies of their brethren whom they 
wish to inter; and also to make prisoners, whose heads they 
cut off the moment they are beyond their enemies' reach. 



8 



CHAPTER I. 



had attached the end of this cord to his saddle- 
bow, spurred his horse and dragged me off at full 
gallop. 

It was in vain to cry and beg for mercy : the 
Arab continued his rapid pace, dragging me, half 
strangled, over the rocks and brambles, This hor- 
rible punishment lasted for some minutes. At last 
the horse, compelled to mount a steep hillock, 
slackened his pace, and I succeeded, not without 
difficulty, in raising myself. Then, stunned by 
the rude shock, my hands and face bruised and 
bloody, my legs torn, I know not how I still 
retained sufficient strength to seize the cord and to 
keep it up, so that it should not bear entirely on 
my neck ; to run, to catch the horse, and hang on 
its tail. But as soon as the other Arabs, put to 
flight by the sailors who had hurried to our assist- 
ance, had rejoined us, they began to overwhelm 
me with insults, and tore my dress to rags. A 
single instant sufficed to strip me almost entirely. 
They only left me a bad pair of summer trousers 
and boots, which the flints and brambles, over 
which I had been just dragged, had worn into 
holes. They had perceived our misfortune on 
board the brig, and commenced firing at the Arabs, 
but each shot cost me numberless blows; and the 
horse to which I was attached, alarmed at the 
noise of the cannon, suddenly darting forward im- 
petuously, I fell to the ground. The Arabs hurried 
after, striking me ; and if, after great difficulty, I 
had succeeded in raising myself, my merciless 
executioner, who soon perceived it, recommenced 



I AM MADE PRISONER. 



9 



galloping furiously, casting at me, at the same 
time, a look of contempt. 

The incessant galloping of the horse, the violent 
shocks of the cord, which caused me to roll in the 
midst of the brambles and stones, upon which I 
left a bloody track, the reproaches and blows of 
the Arabs — all this lasted a quarter of an hour: 
a quarter of an hour is very short; yes, still, I 
can assure you, this quarter of an hour was very 
long, ' 

When the Arabs considered the distance they 
bad just passed sufficiently great to have no longer 
cause to dread the pursuit of the sailors, they 
stopped to cut off my head. They loosed the cord 
from my neck, they tied my hands behind my 
back, and I was bound to a dwarf palm. 

I was so much overcome by fatigue, I sank to 
the ground, and aw T aited death with indifference. 
I knew the fate reserved for all the prisoners of the 
Arabs, and I had bid adieu to life in falling into 
their hands. I had but one sorrowful thought, 
and that was quickly driven away, either by the 
expectation of death, or by the passionate scene 
in which I was, although bound and silent, the 
principal actor — I thought of my family, of my 
sister, and said to myself, "AYhat grief, on hear- 
ing of this event ! As for me, it is finished ; my 
accounts are squared. — My poor sister !" 

A violent dispute arose among the Arabs. They 
flourished their sabres over my head, and disputed 
for the pleasure of cutting it off. They cried all 
at once, " It is I — it is I who took him ; I ought 
b 2 



10 



CHAPTER I. 



to cut off his head !" and each, to prove the 
truth of his assertion, showed a slip of my shirt 
or my coat. Many of them aimed at their compa- 
nions, exclaiming, " It is for me to cut off his 
head ; I kill you if you do not allow me my right \" 
At this moment an Arab arrived at full gallop, in 
the midst of the group, and threw upon my knees 
the head of the unfortunate Jonquie, one of our 
sailors ; as if to add, by the sight of this frightful 
trophy, to the terror which I ought to feel, and to 
announce to me the treatment I had to expect. 
As I turned my eyes, in disgust, from this head, 
bloody and horribly mutilated, I perceived the 
Arab whom I had wounded, stretched upon the 
earth, about fifty paces from me. He raised him- 
self with difficulty, and sought to aim at me with 
a pistol he held in his left hand; but the horsemen, 
in the heat of their discussion, passed and repassed 
before the patient, who allowed his hand to drop, 
waiting a favourable opportunity to aim at me. I 
saw his manoeuvre, but it caused me little dread, 
and I said to myself, " If I am to die, it will not 
be this fellow, who aims at me with his left hand, 
who will lodge a ball in my body." 

I awaited, however, with impatience, the con- 
clusion of this terrible discussion, and the yataghan 
which was to sever my head from my body, when 
the arrival of another horseman changed the reso- 
lution of the Arabs. 

Adda, the spy of Abd-el-Kader, had often come 
to see us at Arzew. He called himself our friend, 
and wished to establish himself as such. To drive 



DELIBERATION OF THE ARABS. 



11 



away the suspicions which his frequent visits might 
cause, he assured us it was merely for the purpose 
of selecting- a favourable position, in order to esta- 
blish himself and his tribe. Delighted by the good 
disposition which seemed to animate him, we had 
often invited him to dinner ; but the traitor had 
other designs. He remarked, in passing our lines, 
the spots where our cattle fed, which he wished 
to carry ofT; and it was for this design that he had 
concealed himself in the ravine with his troop, 
which had surprised us and made me prisoner. 
Adda, seeing these enraged beings disputing about 
my life, called out, " Do not kill him ! He is an 
officer : Abd-el-Kader will pay us much better 
for his body than for his head ; and will replace, 
if we take him alive, the three horses we have lost." 
The Arabs., in reply, continued to brandish their 
sabres over my head, and to take aim at me, utter- 
ing, at the same time, horrible imprecations against 
the dog of a Christian. 

Adda gave fresh explanations, and when they 
had succeeded in removing the Arab I had wound- 
ed (the unfortunate man died next day), his pro- 
position was accepted. They decided that they 
would take me alive to Abd-el-Kader, and that 
they would leave the choice of my punishment to 
the Sultan., after he had paid my ransom and 
restored the horses our men had killed. 

Immediately after the adoption of Adda's advice, 
the Arabs loosed me from the palm tree. They 
passed a cord through that which already bound 
my hands, two men took each an end, they placed 



12 



CHAPTER I. 



me in the middle of the troop, and we commenced 
our march for Old Arzew. 

If Adda saved my life, it is not to the goodness 
of his heart, or to the generosity of his feelings, that 
I am indebted for such a benefit, but to his cupidity. 
Generosity, gratitude, friendship, are words which 
sound in vain in the ears of an Arab. They have 
but one passion — that of money; and for a few 
pieces of gold these miserable beings would deliver 
up their father and their mother. 

After a march of two hours, during which the 
Arabs allowed me to take a little rest, we arrived 
at Old Arzew, where we stopped a few minutes to 
refresh the escort and the horses. I was weakened 
by fatigue ; the wounds which covered my hands 
and legs pained me cruelly ; I was naked, covered 
with perspiration and dust, tormented by a burning 
thirst; I stretched myself on the ground, despair- 
ing, and cursing my fate. I believed T could pro- 
ceed no further, and thought that my body would 
remain without burial in the enclosure of Old 
Arzew, while my head would go to adorn, for one 
day, the tent of Abd-el-Kader. But I will ask 
permission of my reader to tell him what became 
of my companions, whilst I was penetrating the 
interior of the country in company with the Arabs. 

The captain of the brig, M. Roland de Chabert, 
after having killed one Arab and mortally wounded 
another, had received a ball in his side, a second 
had carried away two fingers from his hand ; he 
had his head laid open with the blow of a yataghan, 
and would certainly have been carried off, if the 



RESULT OF THE ATTACK. 



13 



sailors had not rescued him from the hands of the 
Arabs. Adda had recognised, from his ambuscade, 
the doctor, Clinchard; he immediately pointed 
him out to his companions, recommending them 
to take him alive, in order to lead him to Abd-el- 
Kader, to attend to their sick and wounded. They 
therefore surrounded the doctor, contenting them- 
selves with knocking him down with sticks ; but 
Clinchard, little and active, slipping under the 
horses and leaping over the brambles, succeeded in 
rejoining our sailors, after having killed one Arab 
and avoiding three times the fatal slip-knot, into 
which I, alas ! had so well introduced my head. 

The captain remained a long time between life 
and death ; at last his strength returned by degrees, 
his wounds cicatrised, and he no longer ran any 
danger of his life. 

Clinchard suffered a prodigious swelling, which 
disappeared by degrees, and fifteen days afterwards 
he suffered no other inconvenience from our mis- 
adventure than the sorrow my fate caused him. 

I have said the Arabs brought me the head of 
the unfortunate Jonquie. 

They had left behind them an unfortunate boat- 
swain, stretched among the brambles, pierced with 
wounds. Each Arab, as he passed, gave him a 
cut with his sabre. Our soldiers carried*him away, 
after having swept the enemy from the plain, but 
he expired on reaching the barge. 

I shall not finish the recital of the attack of the 
Arabs without making mention of the bravery, the 
sang froid, and ability of my colleague, Lieutenant 



14 



CHAPTER I. 



Bravais. This courageous friend commanded the 
sailors who flew to our assistance. He disposed 
his troops so well, and charged so vigorously 
upon the Arabs, that he compelled them to take 
to flight in a clin-d'-ccil ; and if boldness and in- 
trepidity could have saved me, certes, the boldness 
and intrepidity of Bravais would have assured 
my deliverance. 



CHAPTER II. 



Arrival at Old Arzew. — Detestable Eepast. — The Head of a 
dead Me. — Bad Treatment.— I am driven from three 
Wells. — Arrival at the Tribe of Borgia.. — Repast. — Night. 
— March. — The dead Man's Head again. — Arrival at the 
Camp of Abd-el-Kader. 

As I was in the advanced guard of the Arabs, I 
was one of the first to arrive at Old Arzew. 
Stretched upon the earth, at some paces from a foun- 
tain, I saw the troop which had attacked us defile 
past me; I counted two hundred horsemen. We 
made a halt of a quarter of an hour, during which 
time the men allowed their horses to drink, and 
took themselves something to eat. They brought 
me some figs,* and presented to me, in the leaf of a 
fig tree, some flour from oak acorns diluted with 
water; but, fatigued as I was, I was satisfied with 
drinking and chewing a few figs : I could never 
bring myself to swallow that oak-acorn flour. I 
had scarcely begun to enjoy some repose, when the 
voice of the chief gave the signal for departure, and 
I commenced my march escorted by twenty-seven 
horsemen. The remainder of the troop remained 
at Old Arzew,f to prepare a fresh attack against 

* The Europeans call *hese figs Barbary figs, and the Arabs 
call them European figs, 
f Old Arzew is a small town, situated upon a hill, a quarter 



CHAPTER II. 



our advanced posts, and to carry off our 
cattle. 

At the moment we were on the point of starting, 
an Arab approached me with a straw hat in his 
hand : the head of Jonquie was in the hat He 
ordered me to carry this hideous burthen : I re- 
fused. His comrades ran to the spot ; they over- 
whelmed me with blows and insults, and exclaimed, 

" Dog of a Christian, you shall carry the head." 

"No, I will not carry it." ' 

"You shall carry it," replied the Arabs, re- 
doubling their blows. 

" You shall kill me sooner : I will not carry it. 
In fact, I suffer too much already ; I will go no 
further: kill me at once." * 

With these words I laid myself down on the 
ground. It was my only means of obtaining any 
thing from these worthless beings : I had only to 
threaten not to proceed any further, and entreat them 
to kill me, to succeed in obtaining some concessions. 
Still I foresaw the moment when, furious at not being 
able to conquer my obstinacy, they would kill me on 
the spot. Fortunately, Adda, and several horsemen 
who marched in the front, retraced their steps, at the 
noise of this scene. I was always desirous of being 
near Adda, or of making my voice reach him, as he 
understood perfectly well what I said, and intended 

of an hour's march from the sea. Since the French have fixed 
an establishment at this port, four years ago, the Arabs have 
abandoned the town. There is nothing remaining except a few 
bare walls and a few huts in ruins. Arzew is surrounded by many 
trees : there are still to be found some stones covered with Latin 
inscriptions, almost illegible, and the ruins of an aqueduct. 



BAD TREATMENT. 



IT 



to deliver me alive to Abd-el-Kader, to obtain a 
horse in the place of the one he had lost ; he never 
failed to run to the spot as soon as my life was 
threatened. 

Adda and his horsemen, having informed them- 
selves of the cause of our quarrel, and judging from 
my firmness that my resolution was immovable, 
ended by calming the irritation of their comrades, 
and causing the head of Jonquie, which had been 
placed before me, to be taken away. An Arab 
fixed it to his saddle bow, and then, after having 
suffered several blows of a stick, which the Arabs 
applied to my shoulders, as if to make me pay for 
their disappointment, we left the ruins of Old 
Arzew, and directed our course across the plain. 

In traversing the plain of Macta, we found three 
wells. Several Arabs of the neighbouring tribes 
came to meet us ; they drew water and gave it to 
the horsemen and horses. I approached the first 
well, to drink like the rest, although the water was 
bad and brackish, but the Arab who held the bucket 
spat in my face, crying, 

"This water is not for a dog of a Christian like 
thee l" I was tempted to strike the fool, but I 
quickly changed my intention, and did well, for 
I should have been killed on the spot. I was a 
prisoner, and compelled to endure the bad treatment 
and insults of my masters without murmuring. I 
did not reply, but went to the second well. 

But the Arab who drew the water spat in my 
face, and apostrophised me in the same manner as 
his comrade. 



iS 



CHAPTER II. 



(t This water is not for a dog of a Christian like 
thee !" 

I armed myself with patience, and proceeded to 
the third well ; here the Arab was not contented 
with spitting in my face, and addressing to me the 
same compliment as his companions ; he threw the 
bucketful of water in my face. I was covered with 
perspiration ; a doctor would have predicted an in- 
flammation of the chest as the consequence ; but, 
as I had not time to be ill, and nurse such an indis- 
position, I escaped with a few shivers and an attack 
of despair. Then, according to my plan, I sat 
down on the ground and exclaimed, 

" You may kill me — I will not go another step 
— I die of thirst !" And, in truth I told no false- 
hood. My mouth and tongue were as dry as a 
piece of cork. I was burnt up with ardent thirst. 
Then the Kait of the tribe of Amiens and Adda 
went themselves to draw water from the fountain, 
and made me drink. 

We recommenced our march. In the country 
we were traversing, the Arabs were reaping their 
barley : the horsemen cried out to them, " Come 
and see the dog of a Christian ; y> and the Arabs 
quitted their labour, approached us, and spat in 
my face. When those who formed my escort 
discovered on the plain any individuals of their 
nation or tribe, some of the horsemen separated 
from us, and going about fifty paces off, cried out 
with all their strength — "Come and seethe dog 
of a Christian." They then returned at full gallop, 
flourished their guns in the air, and directing the 



MARCH. 



19 



muzzle at my bead. When they were about 
twenty paces distant, they took aim at me; then, 
turning the weapon a little on one side, suddenly 
pulled the trigger. As I was not yet accustomed 
to this singular manoeuvre, and as my sensations 
were not as yet completely extinguished by my 
sufferings, I avow that these cruel pleasantries 
made me suffer lively anguish ; I allow that I shud- 
dered as I heard the balls whistling past my ears. 
It was merely to celebrate their victory, and to 
express their joy, that they made these demonstra- 
tions : I knew it well, but I said to myself, " These 
barbarians are quite capable of killing you in the 
excess of their delight. It would be ill luck to 
receive in the head a bullet, fired in sign of rejoic- 
ing, and which was not intended for you, after hav- 
ing escaped those fired in earnest. 5 ' So in France ; 
they obtain a victory, they light glass lamps, and 
all is over — by the grace of God ! 

I ended, however, in becoming so accustomed to 
this exercise, that, at the close of my captivity, I 
saw Arabs, when they set out from the camp, take 
aim at me, and discharge their pieces, without ex- 
periencing the least fear or the slightest emotion. 

We crossed several rivers that day. I was over- 
come. with fatigue, covered with perspiration, ind 
scorching dust ; I was dying of thirst, and the 
wretches who surrounded me struck me when I 
stopped to drink. We forded the rivers ; I had 
the water often as high as my w 7 aist, and still the 
torturers would not allow me to collect a little in 
the hollow of my hand. Then, deaf to their 



20 



CHAPTER II. 



menaces, and insensible to the blows of the stick 
and the butt end of their guns, I allowed myself to 
sink, as if exhausted by fatigue, to the bed of the 
river ; I laid myself down in the water, and drank 
long draughts. I raised myself more active, but 
soon fatigue and heat reawakened the desire to 
drink ; and, at each river we passed, I had to 
repeat the same manoeuvre.. 

However, my strength was becoming exhausted : 
it was three o'clock ; I had been walking since five 
in the morning, my feet were torn with the stones, 
and I had the greatest difficulty in the world in 
following the Arabs, who were on horseback. 
At last I fell in the middle of the road, worn out 
with weariness. They picked me up and placed 
me on a horse ; a quarter of an hour afterwards 
the owner of the horse made me dismount, by 
drawing me off by the legs. I walked for two 
hours longer ; they then made me remount, and, 
at the close of night, after a march of twelve hours, 
we arrived at the tribe of the Borgia. 

On our arrival, I was immediately exposed to 
the insults, the blows, the saliva, of men, women, 
and children. The Kait of this tribe had the tent 
pitched in which we were to pass the night. I was 
only half admitted into it ; they made me lie on 
the ground beyond the carpet. 

The Arabs of the tribe of Borgia brought the 
horsemen of our escort some boiled fowls, with 
couscoussou for their supper, which was quickly 
devoured. I watched them from my corner, and 
certainly I could have eaten a piece with great 



ARRIVAL AT THE TRIBE OF BORGIA. 



21 



pleasure ; but they considered me unworthy to eat 
meat. They cast towards me, with disdain, into a 
bason that was near me, a handful of couscoussou.* 
It was the first time I had ever found myself before 
so miserable a dish for my dinner. I diluted these 
balls in the water, but I could not succeed in eating 
them, I found them so insipid, and my throat was 
so dry with the fatigue of the day. 

When the Arabs had finished their repast, they 
made me give up my shirt ; and, in order to guard 
against any attempt at escape during the night, 
they placed my feet in irons. Fatigue had so 
swollen them, that the negro who had charge of the 
operation, had the greatest difficulty in making 
them enter the rings, which he was obliged to force 
by squeezing my legs, in order to fasten them with 
the padlock. I suffered much ; and, the operation 
being finished, at the sight of my irons the tears 
came into my eyes. Yes, I wept, on seeing myself 
enchained, like a wild beast, by a barbarous and 

* Couscoussou. They are balls of flour, with, which the Arabs 
surround the boiled fowls, or any other meat, as we garnish a 
leg of mutton with Trench beans, or a fowl with rice. The 
Arab holds a sieve, in which the flour is placed, and moves it 
gently, whilst another Arab throws water on the flour. Little 
balls are soon formed, which the women form into a round 
shape as soon as they are sufficiently large ; when this opera- 
tion is finished, they throw the balls into an earthen pot, the 
bottom of which is pierced with holes. The Arabs place this 
pot over an earthen kettle, filled with water, which they cause 
to boil, and wait until the steam has cooked them before they 
remove them; they then place them over the poultry, and 
moisten them with some meat soup and milk, highly spiced. 
When the couscoussou and poultry are good, it forms an excel- 
lent dish : this time it was very bad. 



22 CHAPTER II. 

useless precaution. Alas ! they saw very well that 
I could not think of escape, for I could not even 
support myself upon my legs.. My guard had not 
allowed me to lie clown on the border of the carpet. 
I stretched myself on the ground, I arranged my 
feet so that the iron should pain me as little as 
possible, and fell profoundly asleep. I was so 
broken by fatigue, that I did not awaken before 
the morning, when the negro came to free me from 
my irons. The foolish fellow, without giving me 
notice, shook abruptly the rings which surrounded 
my feet, and this movement caused so sharp a pain, 
that if I had had any weapon I should not have 
given him time to call for help. I wished to raise 
myself, but I fell back immediately upon the 
ground. My feet were swollen and lacerated; the 
wounds which covered my legs and hands, after 
the repose of the night and the cold of the morning, 
shot sharp and acute pains through all my body. 
The Arabs felt pity at my condition ; they saw that 
if they forced me to march a few minutes, they 
would be compelled to leave me expiring in the 
middle of the road. They decided upon giving 
me a horse, and we set off for the camp of Abd-el- 
Kader, from which we were about ten leagues dis- 
tant. But, actuated as they always are, by a 
feeling of cruelty, and as if to iclemnify themselves 
for being obliged to give me a horse, the Arabs 
hung to my saddle bow the head of the unfortunate 
Jonquie. It sent forth a fetid odour. The bar- 
barians soon perceived the repugnance that I felt 
to these horrid remains, and the frightful nausea 



ARRIVAL AT THE CAMP OF ABD-EL-KADER. 23 



that these exhalations caused me, and immediately 
they began to pierce, with the points of their 
sabres, these shreds of human flesh, and to dig out 
the skull with their yataghans, to hasten the com- 
plete putrefaction, by exposing the brain to the 
action of the sun and air. 

We completed the distance between Mascara 
and Monstaganem, and I experienced a secret 
pleasure, on perceiving the marks which the wheels 
of our cannons had made on the road. I followed 
them with the greatest attention ; they recalled to 
mind our soldiers — my country. I was in hopes 
we might perhaps be surprised by our troops, that 
we might be about to fall upon some advanced post 
of the French, and I forgot all my sufferings, the 
putrid and bloody head which hung at the bow of 
of my saddle, the insults, the irons, the bad treat- 
ment. I saw the French — I heard the shouts of my 
liberators — I fancied myself on board the brig — I 
embraced my friends, my relations. Whilst I was 
pursuing these brilliant dreams ; whilst my imagi- 
nation, in delirium, presented to my eyes pictures 
of happiness ; at the moment that I fancied myself 
free, at the command of the battery thundering 
upon the Arabs — alas ! my delightful illusions 
speedily vanished, scattered by the blows of the 
sticks and gunstocks, which the Arabs applied to 
my back every moment. If my horse slackened 
his pace, they struck me ; if I applied my heel 
to the horse to hasten his progress, they beat me 
again; exclaiming, — A dog of a Christian like 
thee has no right to beat the horse of an Arab." 



24 



CHAPTER II. 



" Robbers," said I, " if ever I have the power of 
revenging myself! How then am I to hurry my 
horse ? if he does not proceed, you strike me ; if I 
press his sides you strike me again. Brutes ! 
savages ! There is no means, with the best will in 
the world, of coming to an understanding and liv- 
ing quietly with you." We marched thus during 
six hours, before reaching the camp of Ahd-el- 
Kader. At last the Arabs uttered shouts of joy, 
and Adda informed me that we had arrived at the 
camp, situated aux environs of the town of Kaala,* 
which we had just discovered. I immediately felt 
my hopes sink in my heart, and it was not without 
feeling a lively anxiety, that I passed the first tents 
of the camp of the man who was about to decide 
upon my fate. 

* El Kaala is a very pretty little town, situated in a well- 
wooded and cool ravine, at the foot of the mountains. It is 
overlooked on all sides by high mountains ; it is surrounded by 
very pretty gardens, and numerous springs preserve a luxuriant 
vegetation. The town is protected by a fort, fortified with three 
pieces of cannon. The principal inhabitants are Courr-ouglis; 
they manufacture a large quantity of carpets. This town 
should contain twelve hundred inhabitants. The trees are very 
handsome, and the water excellent. 



CHAPTER III. 



The Camp of Abd-el-Kader. — The Chaous.— Mr Presentation to 
the Sultan. — Description of his Tent. — Portrait of Abd-el- 
Kader. — Conversation. — He causes me to be clothed. — M. 
Meurice. — Euinous Condition of the Camp. — The Troops of 
Abd-el-Kader. — His Officers. 

The camp of Abd-el-Kader was situated in a 
wood of fig trees, upon the road itself from Mous- 
taganem to Mascara : the wheel-ruts are still per- 
fectly distinguishable which the cannons of the 
French had made at the time of their last passage. 
As soon as we arrived at the first tent, my guides 
made me dismount, and we were immediately sur- 
rounded by thousands of Arabs — men, women* and 
children— who began to make the air resound with 
their confused clamours. I distinguished, from 
time to time,— " Son of a dog ! — Dog of a Chris- 
tian ! — Cut off his head \" — the whole accompanied 
with blows and the customary spitting. However, 
the Chaousf came to my assistance. They drove 
away these savages with blows of their sticks, and 

* The women belonged to the neighbouring tribes, and had 
collected on the news of my arrival. There are none in the 
camp of Abd-el-Kader. 

f Chaous are the executioners. They have the rank of officers, 
and eat with Abd-el-Kader. They are richly clad, and gene- 
rally carry superb yataghans and magnificent pistols, orna- 
mented with pearls and coral, suspended to a gilded belt. They 
C 



26 



CHAPTER III. 



succeeded, with great difficulty, in rescuing me 
from their hands, and conducting me to the tent of 
Abd-el-Kader, by making a rampart for me with 
their bodies. 

This brutal reception was not such as to reassure 
me. Moreover, I experienced a certain dread in 
entering the tent ; but Abd-el-Kader, without doubt 
perceiving my fear, by the paleness of my coun- 
tenance, made me a sign, with a smile, to be seated, 
and said to me, " As long as you remain near me, 
you have neither to dread bad treatment nor insults." 
Emboldened by this kind reception, I asked him 
for water. I had not drunk since the preceding 
evening — thanks to the horsemen of my escort. 
Abd-el-Kader had me immediately conducted to 
the tent which served as a magazine for provisions, 
where they gave me a melon, some grapes, some 
white bread, and some water. I experienced at 
this moment sensations and feelings I had never 
expected to feel again. The kind reception of Abd- 
el-Kader, the assurance he had hastened to give 
me, altogether raised my sunken courage, and re- 
awakened in my spirit smiling and flattering hopes. 
The melon was excellent, and the water fresh. I 
devoured the melon, and emptied a pitcher of water. 

My repast being finished, I was reconducted to 
the tent of Abd-el-Kader. This tent is the most 
magnificent of the whole camp. It is thirty feet 

have always a stick (baton) in their hand, of which they make 
constant use ; for they have more blows to give than heads to 
cut off. 



THE TENT OF ABD-EL-KADER. 



27 



long and eleven feet high. It is furnished in the 
interior with cloth of various colours, upon which, 
in the midst of arabesque and crescents, yellow, 
red, blue, green, hang weepers, similar in their 
form to those which decorate, with us, the mortuary 
cloths. A woollen curtain (haick) divides it into 
two unequal parts; in the hinder part, which is the 
smallest, is a mattrass, destined for the siesta, or 
sleep, of the Sultan. A small door, which opens 
to the back, serves as a passage for those in waiting 
in the tent, and to the slaves more particularly 
attached to the person of Abd-el-Kader. Ben- 
About and Ben-Faka, of whom we shall soon speak, 
have the charge of watching over him when he goes 
out by this door, and to present water to him for 
his ablutions. During the day, the two curtains, 
which close at night the front of the tent, rest 
attached to two long rods : the interior is thus open 
to all eyes, and accessible to all comers. 

In one of the corners, on the ground, are rolled 
four flags, which four horsemen always carry before 
Abd-el-Kader when he is on a march. They are 
of silk : the first, the banner of the cavalry, is red ; 
the second, the banner of the infantry, has a yellow 
stripe between two horizontal blue stripes ; the 
third, two horizontal stripes, the one green, the 
other white; the fourth is half yellow, half red. 
On Friday, the day of rest for the Arabs, they are 
exposed before the tent of the Sultan. 

Thirty negro slaves, who form the body-guard 
of Abd-el-Kader, surround his tent. They are 



28 



CHAPTER III. 



never relieved, and have no other bed than the 
earth. A great number of chaous are always in 
attendance at the entrance, waiting the orders of 
their master. 

In the interior is an elevated stool, covered with 
red silk, of which Abd-el-Kader makes use in 
mounting his horse. There is also a small mattrass, 
covered with a carpet, upon which are two cushions 
of red silk. A chest is placed at each end of the 
mattrass, two other chests form the back, and a 
carpet covers the whole. All this forms the sofa 
of Abd-el-Kader. The boxes enclose his money 
and his clothes. A carpet, upon which strangers 
seat themselves, is spread upon the ground. 

I have now mentioned all the furniture and all 
the ornaments of the tent of Abd-el-Kader. I 
must describe the life, the character, the manners, 
the habits of this man, so badly known even to 
this day. After all I had heard said of him, I 
expected to see a barbarian, always ready to cut off 
heads — a tiger, thirsty for blood : my expectation 
was much deceived. 

Abd-el-Kader is 28 years of age. He is little, 
being not more than five feet high ; his face long, 
and of excessive paleness ; his large black eyes are 
mild and caressing; his mouth small and graceful ; 
his nose aquiline. His beard is thin, but very 
black. He wears a small moustache, which gives 
his features, naturally fine and benevolent, a martial 
air, which becomes him exceedingly. The ensemble 
of his physiognomy is sweet and agreeable. Mons. 



PORTRAIT OF ABD-EL-KADER. 



29 



Bravais has told me that an Arab chief, whose 
name I have forgotten, being one day on board 
the " Loiret," in the captain's state-room, exclaim- 
ed, on seeing the portrait of a woman, Isabeau de 
Baviere, whom the engraver had taken to personify 
Europe, " There is Abd-el-Kader I" Abd-el-Kader 
has beautiful small hands and feet, and displays 
some coquetry in keeping them in order. He is 
always washing them. While conversing, squatted 
upon his cushions, he holds his toes in his fingers, 
or, if this posture fatigues him, he begins to pare, 
to clear the bottom of the nails with a knife and 
scissors, of which the mother-of-pearl handle is 
delicately worked, and which he has constantly in 
his hands. 

He affects an extreme simplicity in his dress. 
There is never any gold or broidery upon his ber- 
nous.* He wears a shirt of very fine linen, the 
seams of which are covered with a silken stripe. 
Next to his shirt comes the haick.f He throws 
over the haick two bernous of white wool, and upon 
the two white bernous a black one. A few silken 
tassels are the only ornaments which relieve the 
simplicity of his costume. He never carries any 
arms at his girdle. % His feet are naked in his 

* Bernous, a kind of woollen mantle, without sleeves, but 
with a hood to it'. 

f Haick, a covering of very thin wool, with which they wrap 
their bodies and their heads. 

* I have seen at the print-sellers' shops a portrait of Abd-el- 
Kader — the face of Blue Beard — pistols and poignards in his 
belt. Abd-el-Kader in his camp never wears arms. They say 
also that he has very bad teeth; I never perceived it. 



30 



CHAPTER III. 



slippers. He has his head shaved, and his head- 
dress is composed of two or three Greek caps, the 
one upon the other, over which he throws the hood 
of his bernou. 

The father of Abd-el-Kader, who has been dead 
two years, was a maraboot,* named Mahidin, who > 
by his good fortune, his intelligence, his reputation 
for holiness, had obtained a great repute among 
the Arabs, and a great moral influence over the 
tribes. He had performed the journey to Mecca 
twice ; he had twice prostrated himself before the 
tomb of the prophet. His son accompanied him 
on his second trip; he was then eight years of 
age. His youth did not prevent his seeing, ob- 
serving, and profiting : he already knew how to 
write and read Arabic, and had also learned Italian. 
On their return from this pious expedition, Mahi- 
din guided the youthful intelligence of his son in 
the difficult study of the Koran, at the same time 
that he instructed him in the practical part of 
business. 

The taking of Algiers occurred. As soon as w r e 
had concluded a peace with the Arabs, Abd-el- 
Kader laboured to excite the tribes, to nourish and 
envenom their resentments, to exalt their religious 
fanaticism, and, above all, to become their chief. 
The intelligence, the activity, the bravery, the 
address, the craft of the young maraboot soon dis- 
tinguished him among the tribes. The Arabs re- 

f Maraboot, priest. Such as have performed the journey to 
Mecca are called holy (l'hadj). 



CONVERSATION. 



3; 



cognised the superiority that natural advantages 
assured him over them ; they became accustomed 
by degrees to consider him their chief : to-day he is 
their sultan. He is the only man capable of main- 
taining the Arabs against our attacks. If the tribes 
should lose him, discouraged as they already are, 
and tired of the war, they would soon place them- 
selves under our rule.* 

When I was introduced the second time into 
the tent of the sultan, he was seated upon some 
pillows ; his secretaries and some maraboots, squat- 
ted down in a circle, were near him. His smiling 
and gracious countenance formed a pleasing con- 
trast with their stern and savage faces. The 
chief secretary first drew my attention. His phy- 
siognomy was perfectly Tartuffian — he is a rogue; 
he always urged Abd-el-Kader to demand a large 
sum of money for my ransom. 

The sultan ordered me, with a smile full of kind- 
ness, to be seated, and said to me in Arabic, f 

'''Where were you taken ?" 

" At Arzew." 

i( Your name ?" 

* Fiance." 

" Oh, yes ; Francais." 

* I forgot to say that the name Abd-el-Kader is the baptismal 
name. The Sultan is called Sidi-l'Hadj Abd-el-Kader VI ahidin ; 
in French, Monsieur le Saint Abd-el-Kader Mahidin. This 
last is the family name. He is called holy, because he has 
been to Mecca. 

f Abd-el-Kader can speak a little French ; but from pride, or 
to humour the susceptibility and the fanaticism of the Arabs, 
he never would speak christian with a Christian. 



32 CHAPTER III. 

" Yes, I am a Frenchman ; but that is not what 
I wish to say : I am called France." 
"Yes, Francais?" 

"No, France; as if, for example, you were 
named Mascara, Algiers, Oran, Mohammed Ali, 
Abd-el-Kader." 

"France?" 

" Yes."* 

" Your rank ?" 

" Frigate-lieutenant." f 

" Captain ?" - 

" No, frigate-lieutenant." 

" They told me you were captain. Explain to 
me what you were on board your ship." 

" On board of a ship there is a captain ; after- 
wards a lieutenant, second in command ; then 
frigate-lieutenants, of whom I am one ; then come 
the masters, the quarter-masters, the sailors, the 
apprentices, the cabin-boys ; these last are but 
children." 

" I understand — lieutenant ; you are the third on 
board the ship ?" 
" Yes." 

" Fear nothing : as long as you are near me you 
will not be exposed to any bad treatment." 

* This short explanation showed me how much Abd-el-Kader's 
intelligence was superior to that of the other Arabs. He imme- 
diately comprehended that my family name was France, and 
he pronounced it very well; while the other Arabs have always 
believed I had no name, and constantly called me Francais. 

f At this time we were still styled so ; since then, a new 
regulation gives us the title of Lieutenant. 



CONVERSATION. 



33 



He conversed with me a long time on the gene- 
rals who had commanded in Africa, and he in- 
quired, with a good deal of interest and curiosity, 
what had become of them. At the name of Gene- 
ral Trezel he became violently angry, and exclaim- 
ed, He is the author of all our evils ! He is the 
man who, by breaking the peace, has caused so 
many disasters !" 

I understood him to make allusion to the battle 
of Tafna, where General Bugeaud retrieved the 
check we had received at Macta, which had cost 
us rive hundred men. 

"How many horsemen," said I to him, "did 
you lose at Tafna 3 " 

" How many ?" replied he with anger, " How 
many - What have you to do with that 3 The 
Arab has not been killed like the French at Macta. 
You have not retrieved the great victory I gained 
over you. Five hundred of our men never returned 
from Tafna,"* I took care not to add any obser- 
vation. There was a moment's silence, after which 
he smiled and said, " Have you need of any thing 
else to-day ?" 

f< I am quite naked ; have me clad." 

Abd-el-Kader immediately gave orders for them 
to dress me. I retired, on a sign to that effect, 
and they conducted me to the magazine of provi- 
sions. There they supplied me with a cap, a very 

•f* As the Arabs are the greatest liars in the world, we may 
say, without fear of being taxed with exaggeration, that Gene- 
ral Bugeaud killed 1,200 men at Tafna, 



34 



CHAPTER III. 



light haick, a shirt, and slippers. They restored 
me my trousers, and I pat them on, although in 
rags, for there were none to be found in the maga- 
zine. 

During the journey, the horsemen had told me 
that I should find several French prisoners in the 
camp of Abd-el-Kader. While dressing myself, 
I asked an Arab where the prisoners were. 

I had scarcely finished the question, when I saw 
appear before me, like a phantom, a man of a pale 
and meagre countenance, with a long untrimmed 
beard ; the breast uncovered, the legs lank and 
dirty, enveloped in a wretched haick. He bore 
the marks of long suffering and of dreadful misery. 

t( You do not recollect me, Monsieur ?" and a 
smile lighted up his dull and haggard face. 

" No, Monsieur ; I do not believe I have ever seen 
you before." 

" Oh, it is because I have suffered so much since 
our meeting. I am Mons. Meurice. I had heard 
you had been made prisoner: I am very sorry for 
you ; for you know not all the bad treatment, all 
the tortures that await you. But as for myself, I 
cannot conceal the pleasure that your presence 
causes me. I shall be no longer alone ; there will 
be some one to share my fate : for, monsieur, we 
must suffer less (and I feel so already, on seeing 
you) when we have a companion, with whom we 
can converse of our misfortunes, of our country — 
a companion to whom we can tell our griefs with 
tears. You do not know me then, Mons. de 
France ?" 



M. MEURICE. 



35 



"No, Monsieur. Where can I have seen you ? 
On board ? At Algiers ?" 

"At Algiers, at the house of Mons. Lafont, 
merchant, where we dined together." 

" It is true ; at Mons. Lafont' s, at dinner ! Mons. 
Meitrice ?" 

"Yes, Monsieur." 

This poor unfortunate man advanced towards 
me; tears glistened in his eyes ; we warmly squeezed 
our hands. " You must have suffered cruelly ; 
you are much changed. I perceive already all the 
wickedness of the Arabs, whose prisoners we are ; 
but that will not last long. Take courage ; we are 
two ; Abd-el-Kader is good ; we shall be exchanged." 

" Yes, Abd-el-Kader is good ; but his compa- 
nions do not resemble him." 

" We will ask his protection against them. Come, 
Monsieur Meurice, take courage." 

" Oh, no Monsieur among poor prisoners !" 

" Eh bien ! No more Monsieur. Meurice, take 
courage ; we shall not remain here. I have a good 
chance. I am a sailor : a sailor rarely dies on shore ; 
it would be neither proper nor according to his 
habits. For the citizen, the burial-ground, near 
the church ; for the soldier, the field of battle ; for 
the sailor, a ball and the sea. Come, Meurice, 
courage, my friend." 

"Your carelessness, your gaiety, do me good; I 
promise you not to allow myself to be cast down any 
more, if you always retain this delightful humour." 



36 



CHAPTER III. 



" By my faith, a good heart against bad fortune. 
You will soon recover your en bon point." 

In thus speaking, I was far from expressing the 
sorrowful reflections that the miserable appear- 
ance of Meurice caused me. On seeing his face, 
altered by suffering, the leanness of his body/ the 
dejection of his spirits, the weakness of all his 
limbs, one would think he was a lost man. At 
Algiers, at the dinner of M. Lafont, he was strong 
and powerful. He was a man of forty years of 
age, fair complexioned, of an agreeable figure, of 
refined mind; amiable, but very sensitive. Bad 
treatment had reduced him to a deplorable condi- 
tion. Suffering had stupified him ; it had checked 
in him all activity and correctness of ideas, and 
disarranged his whole system ; it had reduced him 
to a weak, credulous, imbecile being. It is neces- 
sary to say, that he had suffered unheard of tortures, 
which I escaped ; that the fatigues and privations 
of a sailor's life had never hardened his frame; 
that no difficult situation had ever inured him to 
moral suffering. 

" Tell me, Meurice, is this the camp of the 
Sultan ? f > 

" Yes." 

" What a camp ! Mon Dieu ! What ruined tents ! 
What soldiers ! — wretches in tatters. What is the 
number of Abd-el-Kader's soldiers ?" 

"There are in the camp 250 horse and 500 foot 
soldiers, clad at his expense. The Califat (General- 
in-chief) is encamped with an equal number of 



OFFICERS OF ABD-EL-KADER. 



37 



men at the outskirts of Tlemsen. It is with this 
handful of men that he drags all the neighbouring 
tribes to battle. The Arabs, as you perceive, place 
all their cavalry in the interior of the camp ; the 
infantry surrounds and protects it." 

" The tent in which we are is as large as that of 
Abd-el-Kader, but not so handsome. What is it 
used for ?* 3 

"It serves as a general magazine for the provi- 
sions and ammunition of Abd-el-Kader. That 
which you see down yonder serves for the Sultan's 
kitchen ; it contains also the grain and couscoussou 
for the food of the troops. There is another, which 
contains all the necessaries of equipment and arms, 
also oil and butter." 

" Who is the chief of our tent ?" 

M He is a negro, named Ben-Faka, son of Faka, 
an old slave of Abd-el-Kader's father. He saw 
the Sultan born, and has attended him during his 
childhood ; he is much attached to him. He fulfils 
the duties assigned among us to the commissaries." 

" Is he a good man ?" 

" So-so ; one day good, the next bad." 

"My friend, we must preserve the description 
of all these men, in order that if they ever fall into 
the power of the French, they may repay to the 
one with the blows of a cord, to the others with a 
few grains of lead, all their blows, insults, and 
odious vexations." 

" Yes, quite right." 

"And the name of the others ?" 



38 



CHAPTER III. 



" Ben- About, an old teacher of Abd-el-Kader. 
He has the entire confidence of the Sultan. He 
keeps guard over the tent of the treasure, when his 
master goes to battle. He is the minister of finance. 
Ben-About and Ben-Faka watch over Abd-el-Ka- 
der, when he goes out of the small door of his tent/' 

"The description of Ben-About?" 

" Ben-About is easy to know. He stammers 
while speaking. A ball has carried off half his 
teeth and half his tongue. 

"The General who commands the troops in the 
camp is named Milloud-Ben-Arrac. He is always 
grave and serious ; he never laughs. 

" He has for Lieutenant an Arab named Mouf- 
tar, who more particularly commands the cavalry. 
During the peace, Mouftar often came to Oran. 
He has seen the manoeuvres of the French cavalry, 
and since then he has been anxious to discipline 
his horsemen, and to make them march in rank. 
All his efforts are useless. The Arabs do not 
understand how a regiment can charge at full gallop 
and maintain their line. It is to them a wonder — 
such a wonder as Mouftar will never succeed in 
making them execute." 

I conversed a few moments longer with Meurice 
upon the position and resources of Abd-el-Kader. 
I will mention all his observations in their proper 
place. 

Meurice then made me relate how I had been 
captured, and what had happened to me since. 
My recital being finished, I entreated him to tell 



FIRST EVENING IN THE CAMP. 39 

me his adventures. He was about to commence, 
when they brought us some couscoussou for supper. 
It was growing dark ; a negro lighted a candle of 
yellow wax, almost as thin as a stable rat ; he fixed 
it upon a stick driven into the earth, and ordered 
us to go to rest. 

We stretched ourselves upon the bare earth ; the 
negroes departed. Then by the feeble light of the 
candle Meurice raised himself, and with a slow and 
sorrowful accent, began the recital of his fatal 
adventure. I wish I was as able to manage the 
pen as I am to manage a vessel, to paint, in the 
midst of this semi-darkness, under a savage tent, 
encumbered with bales, the two prisoners, seated 
sorrowfully on the earth, and Meurice, with his 
pale and livid countenance, with his long beard 
and half-closed eyes, relating, in a low and mourn- 
ful voice, the horrible event which had precipitated 
him from a happy condition into all that misery 
has, most frightful and brutalizing. There are 
things which we feel in a lively manner, but which 
we are not always able to express as warmly as we 
could wish. I sketch the principal features of this 
picture, and leave to the imagination of the reader 
to place on these lines the shadows and the colours. 



CHAPTER IV. 



History of Mons. Meurice. — Attack of the Arabs. — Massacre 
of Mademoiselle D. — Mons. Muller wounded. — Exchange. 
— Barbarity of the Women of the Tribe of the Houled 
Cherifs. — Consternation of Abd-el-Kader, after the Battle 
of Tafna. — Discouragement of the Arabs.— Prisoners sent 
to Droma. — Brutalities of Thirty Negroes. — Four Women. 
— Keturn to the Camp of Abd-el-Kader. 

"After the Revolution of July, I suffered great 
losses, in consequence of some bad speculations. 
Compelled to leave Paris, I went to Algiers, to 
establish myself there with my wife. I employed 
myself in surveying. I was judge of the conten- 
tions which arose on the subject of land. I was 
well contented with my new position ; I worked 
hard. The kindness of Clarissa, and the care she 
lavished upon me, contributed to render my exile 
less painful. She cast into the monotonous exist- 
ence we led at Algiers, an interest, a liveliness, 
which made me delight in that life, so new and so 
strange to a man accustomed to the pleasures and 
distractions of a large city. Poor Clarissa ! she is 
so good and so beautiful ! I love her so sincerely ! 
She writes to me often : we will read her letters 
together. Alas ! perhaps I shall see her no more 
and the tears rolled down Meurice's cheeks. He 
continued : — 



HISTORY OF M. MEURICE. 



41 



M The 26th April, 1S36, I went to visit an estate 
in the district of Mitidja. I was returning to Al- 
giers with Mons. Muller, civil engineer, Mons. 

D , and his sister. I was on horseback, Mons. 

Muller rode a mule, M. D and his sister were 

in a carriage. Suddenly a troop of Arabs surround- 
ed us. We were without arms; Mons. D 

alone had his gun with him. He was the first to 
perceive the Arabs. Seized with fright, forgetting 
his friends, forgetting his sister, he opened the 
coach-door, sprang out, and, without even dis- 
charging his piece, fled as fast as he could, and 
threw himself into a neighbouring morass, where 
the horsemen could not reach him. In the preci- 
pitation and confusion of the attack, M. Muller 
received a ball in his thigh, which wounded him 
severely. I was made prisoner without striking 
a blow. The Arabs obtained possession also of 

Mademoiselle D , and immediately endeavoured 

to satisfy upon her person their hideous brutality ; but 
the noble girl resisted their frightful attempts with 
wonderful courage and constancy. Entreaties, 
threats, blows, loaded pistols and guns presented at 
her head — nothing was able to overcome her heroic 
resistance. Then, my dear De France, they mas- 
sacred this poor girl before our eyes ! and we could 
not defend her. She died resigned, her body torn 
by the yataghans, to appear before her God in all 
her innocency. "Without uttering a cry, without a 
murmur, without asking for mercy — she died, with 
a glance towards us full of a sweet expression of 



42 



CHAPTER IV. 



pity. She seemed to say lo us — Adieu ! I am 
more happy than you : my torments are ended. I 
go to the abodes of joy and eternal felicity. And 
whilst this virtuous girl was breathing forth her last 
sigh, in the most atrocious sufferings, her brother, 
who had with him a loaded gun, was concealed in 
the depths of the morass ; and when the execution- 
ers had departed, after having completed their 
bloody murder, he regained in tranquillity the road 
to the city, and returned to his ordinary occupations I 
" The Arabs dragged off M. Muller and me. M. 
Muller's wound appeared so serious, that the Arabs, 
perceiving the impossibility of keeping him alive, 
if they compelled him to support the fatigues of 
the journey, determined to leave him with the 
Hadjoutes, where we soon arrived, and to await 
his restoration, in order to exchange him for some 
of their own tribe at Algiers. M. Muller remained 
with the Hadjoutes, and an exchange soon restored 
him to liberty. Three Arab prisoners paid his 
ransom. 

"I was destined to be sold to Abd-el-Kader, and 
we set off for the camp of the Sultan. During the 
journey, there is no description of ill treatment 
which I did not endure. Menaces of death, insults, 
blows with the stick and stocks of their guns— I 
. endured all these tortures. I will give you an idea 
of them. In a tribe on the plain, the Arabs bound 
me to a tree, quite naked, my hands tied behind 
my back ; and there, during twenty-four hours, 
the women and children, after having daubed my 



BARBARITY OF THE ARABS. 



43 



face with filth, amused themselves with throwing 
flints at me. 

u Since then, the blows and the insults never 
ceased ; but I never experienced so horrible a pu- 
nishment. The horrid smell of the filth ; the flints 
which every moment struck my head, my body, 
my legs; the children, who bit and pinched my 
thighs — I think it is impossible to suffer more. 

" We arrived, after having remained some time 
at Mascara, at the camp of Abd-el-Kader, situated 
in the outskirts of Tafna. 

"The Sultan received me with kindness, and 
purchased me. He was very sorrowful, and quite 
dejected; he had just lost the battle of Shikah, 
against General Bugeaud. Before the battle he 
had predicted the victory to his army, supporting 
his prophecy by a passage in the Koran, which 
announces the defeat of the Christians in the 
course of the seventh year of their establishment 
in Africa. 

" This overthrow had destroyed all the influence 
he had acquired by falsehoods, and by exalting 
the religious fanaticism* of the Arabs. These last 
had abandoned their Sultan, and disowned his au- 
thority. The tribes murmured, and many of them 
swore no longer to fight under his orders, taking 
charge of their own defence. The Arabs fled on 
all sides, and overthrew every thing on their pass- 
age. They did not even respect the camp of 
Abd-el-Kader, and in the dread that it would 
fall into the hands of the French, they went so 



44 



CHAPTER IV. 



far as to cut off the half of his tent : they pillaged 
it of the provisions. It is to be regretted that, 
under those circumstances, we had not had a few 
more light cavalry; for then, without doubt, we 
should have obtained possession of the camp of 
Abd-el-Kader. 

"The Sultan retreated, immediately after this 
defeat, to Mascara, with fifty horsemen and one 
hundred foot, inhabitants of that city, the only 
remains of his army. The report of a counter- 
march of General Bugeaud had spread terror; the 
magazines of Abd-el-Kader were pillaged in the 
midst of the disorder and general confusion ; and 
certainly Abd-el-Kader would never have recovered 
the blow our troops had just given him, if it had 
not been for the subsidies of every description 
which Mouley-Abd-el-Rachamn, Emperor of Mo- 
rocco, is continually sending him, and without 
which he could not support the smallest army. 

" The Sultan, seeing the Arabs who were the pre- 
ceding evening subject to his orders shake off his 
authority and disown his power, wished to rescue 
the prisoners that were in the camp from a certain 
death. He gave them in charge to the thirty 
negroes who constantly watch around his tent, to 
conduct and escort to Droma; M. Lanternier, a 
colonist of Algiers, his wife, about forty years of 
age, his daughter, a young lady of fifteen years 
of age, beautiful as an angel, a German woman of 
forty years of age, another German woman, taller 
and handsomer than Mademoiselle Lanternier; all 
whom the Sultan recommended to the especial 



PRISONERS SENT TO DROMA. 



45 



care of his negroes, to protect them against the 
insults and aggression of the tribes we had to 
pass. We set off full of confidence in the negroes' 
promise, and penetrated with gratitude for the Sul- 
tan's generosity ; but scarcely were we five hundred 
paces distant from the camp than the negroes 
suddenly stopped. They seized M. Lanternier and 
myself, bound our hands behind our backs, and 
fastened us to a tree ; two negroes placed them- 
selves by our sides, and placed the muzzles of 
their pistols at our breasts. The scene which fol- 
lowed defies description. They, at last, made me 
advance with Lanternier, and we continued our 
journey. Thus did the Arabs fulfil the orders of 
the powerful Sultan Abd-el-Kader. When we 
reached Droma,* they threw M. Lanternier and 

f Droma. Droma is a small town, situated on a plain, at the 
foot of a mountain, five leagues from the frontiers of the empire 
of Morocco, and two leagues from the sea, which is visible from 
thence. The Arabs obtain from this city their earthenware, 
their woollen manufactures, their haicks, their bernous; but, 
since the occupation of TIemsen by the French, and, conse- 
quently, from the* emigration of a large number of the manu- 
facturers, who have transported their families and industry to 
Droma, this last town has acquired a great importance; it is 
still, however, far from affording the Arabs an equivalent for 
the resources they had in Tiemsen. Droma manufactures 200 
haicks per day, and Tiemsen manufactured 1000. The haicks 
are of three qualities : those of inferior quality are worth 5 
francs ; those of a second quality are worth 6 francs ; and those 
of the best quality, 7 francs 50 centimes. It is a great market 
for wool : at Algiers wool is worth 20 francs the quintal (lOOlbs. 
weight). The foot of the mountain at which Droma is situated 
is covered with kermes : the kermes are worth 500 francs the* 
quintal at Algiers. The neighbourhood is very fertile. The 
fruit trees, such as the cherry, apricot, fig, jujub, pomegranate, 



46 



CHAPTER 



myself into an infected prison, and the women into 
another. 

"The 31st July, Abd-el-Kader, wishing to send 
some people to Algiers and to Oran, had me con- 
ducted from Droma to Mascara, and from that 
town to his camp. I found the same benevolent 
disposition in the Sultan as before. He renewed 
the assurance that no harm should be done me, 
and that I should be soon exchanged. He also 
persuaded me to write to my wife, and to request 
her to join me, and he accompanied this last pro- 
position with the most solemn protestations. For 
a moment I was on the point of complying ; but 
soon the recollection of my sufferings, and the 
dread of seeing Clarissa subject to menaces, in- 
sults, and blows, made me abandon the idea. The 
presence of Clarissa would have softened my tor- 
ments and closed my wounds, but ought I to drag 
so dear a wife into the misery into - which I was 
fallen, perhaps to kill her ? 

"I refused; but I thanked the Sultan for his 
generosity. He then informed me 6f the motive 

olive, grow in great numbers, and produce excellent fruit. 
Animals are very cheap : a sheep sells for 2 francs, a cow for 
20, and an ox for 30 francs. 

After Abd-el-Kader's overthrow at Trara-Shika, the Kabails 
did not wish to permit a passage through their mountains to 
the empire of Morocco. The Arabs have no other means of 
communication with this country than through Droma. It is by 
this route that all the subsidies, which Mouley-Abd-el-Rachamn, 
Emperor of Morocco, sends Abd-el-Kader, reach him. The 
occupation of this place would infallibly lead to Abd-el-Kader's 
ruin. 



RETURN TO THE CAMP OF ABD-EL-KADER. 47 

lie had for sending for me to the camp; he made 
me write after his dictation several letters, which 
he sent to Oran and Algiers. 

" I have only been in the camp of Abd-el-Kader 
fourteen days. I am better off here than in the 
prisons of Drorna, and in the tents of the tribes. 
Abd-el-Kader restrains the hatred and fury of the 
Arabs against the Christians. Your presence here 
will throw some consolation in the midst of my 
misery. I am no longer alone, since my fate is 
now bound to yours ; the good or the evil which 
will befall the one, the other will share. Two men 
are always more imposing to their enemies than a 
single one ; and, moreover, you will perhaps easily 
obtain the favour of Abd-el-Kader. Then our 
fate will be changed. The governor will endeavour 
to ransom you ; your deliverance will draw mine 
with it. If ever we recover our liberty, my friend, 
we will write the history of our captivity. I have 
already collected several notes, in this journal — 
and he showed me a small portfolio — you will 
assist me to complete them. Your observations, 
joined to mine, will not be without interest. 

" Now try to sleep ; good night. If you feel 
cold, creep closer to me ; we shall mutually warm 
each other. Good night." 

I pressed affectionately the hand of Meurice. 

His recital had affected me; and, for a long 
time, the recollection of his sufferings caused a 
violent agitation of my spirits. At last a deep 
sleep drove away these mournful images. 



CHAPTER V. 



The Camp of Abd-el-Kader. — Tents of the Infantry. — Tents of 
the Cavalry. — A Piece of Cannon. — Occupation of the Troops. 
Manoeuvres. — History of a Deserter from a Foreign 
Legion. — Cavalry Uniform.— Infantry Uniform. — Prayers. — 
Music. — Cafes. 

We were awakened early next morning by the 
unequal roll of a drum ; we rose immediately, and 
passed the day in walking around the camp, in 
observing the customs, manners, and discipline of 
Abd-el-Kader's soldiers. 

The camp is in the form of a circle ; the tents of 
the infantry compose the boundary, those of the 
cavalry are in the centre. Each tent holds fromf 
fifteen to twenty men. The horses are fastened 
outside by the fore legs, by means of a cord, the 
two ends of which are attached to stakes driven in 
the ground. The tent of Abd-el-Kader is in the 
centre of the camp, and the whole space in the 
front of it is open, and destined for his horses and 
those of his followers particularly attached to his 
person. The boundaries of the camp are visible 
from the tent, and a piece of cannon, the mouth 
of which is directed towards the plain ; it is in a 
very bad state. On my arrival it was mounted 
upon a French carriage, which was broken during 



THE CAMP OF ABD-EL-KADER. 



49 



my stay : I know not how the Arabs have been 
able to repair it. The gunners who have the charge 
of firing it have their hands burnt and blackened 
with powder. The touch-hole is very large, and 
the matches have no handles; so that the powder, 
escaping through the touch-hole in a column of 
fire, inevitably wounds the Arab who discharges 
it. However, it only serves for salutes and re- 
joicings. The tent for the gunners is a few paces 
from the piece. Behind the tent of Abd-el-Kader 
is that of the muleteers. Here are the mules des- 
tined to transport the necessaries of the encamp- 
ment. Xear the tent which serves for a kitchen 
are encamped about a hundred camels, employed 
in carrying, during the excursions and journeys, 
the grain and biscuit* for the soldiers' food. By 
the side of the camels are enclosed a flock of sheep 
and goats, f 

Each tent furnishes two men every night to watch 
over the camp. The first keeps guard from the 
beginning of the night until midnight ; the second 
is not relieved until daybreak. The guard of the 
camp during the day is not confided to any one in 
particular. As soon as day appears, the drum beats, 
and the night guard retire. They distribute to the 
soldiers some miserable biscuit, filled with chaff and 

* The biscuit is very bad. salt, and so hard, that it is necessarv 
to soak it some time in water, to be able to eat it. 

f Every Friday they distribute a sheep for each tent. For- 
merly they gave two ; but since these successive defeats, Abd- 
el-Kader has been obliged to husband his resources and neces- 
saries of every description. 

D 



50 



CHAPTER V. 



earth, or some barley bread. The horsemen carry a 
bushel of barley to their horses. They only allow 
them to drink once during the day, at five o'clock in 
the afternoon. At four o'clock they serve some 
boiled barley to the soldiers, and some couscoussou 
to the chiefs. 

The troops have nothing to do the whole day, 
except when their chiefs attempt, from time to time, 
to instruct them in the manoeuvres and manage- 
ment of their fire-arms. The aga of the infantry 
follows the example of Mouftar, the lieutenant of 
the cavalry. A German deserter, from a foreign 
regiment, assisted in instructing the troops, but he 
has now retired from his office of instructor. 

The history of this soldier is curious. For a year 
after his desertion he was an attache to Abd-el- 
Kader, in capacity of officer-instructor of his in- 
fantry. In spite of the services he daily rendered 
the Arabs, in spite of his fidelity to his new mas- 
ter, he heard them saying every day, that in the first 
skirmish they would send a few balls through his 
head, as they had no wish to be commanded by a 
dog of a Christian ! The German, not willing to 
await the execution of these threats, took advantage 
of the peace to go to Oran, and present himself to 
the General. This officer, for the purpose of 
maintaining the good understanding which, accord- 
ing to all appearances, began to be established 
between Abd-el-Kader and the French, wrote to 
the Sultan, informing him of the arrival of the 
German deserter^ and of his desire to enter into 



THE DESERTER. 



51 



his regiment. He informed him at the same time, 
that he would never consent to allow the man to 
enter into the service of France; that he might 
send for him, and act as he chose with regard to him. 
Abd-el-Kader ordered his chaous to go to Oran, and 
reclaim the deserter. He was delivered up with- 
out difficulty. The chaous bound him with cords 
and dragged him off. The poor fellow perceived, 
on the road, some French soldiers, who were en- 
gaged in repairing it. — " Help, my friends ! Will 
you allow one of your countrymen to be carried off 
by the Arabs — a comrade who has fought these 
rascals with you ? Help ! — they are going to cut 
off my head ! Will you allow one of your com- 
panions to be strangled, without an effort to assist 
him?" The soldiers threw down their mattocks, 
took up their musquets, and were about to run to 
the assistance of the prisoner; but a gen-d'arme, 
sent to protect the chaous, and prevent any attempt 
at rescuing the. German, arrived at full gallop, 
called out to the soldiers, explained to them the 
prisoner's position, and commanded them to let 
him go. 

During this parley the chaous hurried their 
march. The prisoner called to his comrades ; his 
comrades could no longer hear his voice, nor see 
him. They conducted the deserter to Mascara; he 
remained a year in prison, in irons. He was so 
enraged at the conduct of the French towards him, 
that he abjured Christianity, and turned Mussulman 
immediately on coming out of prison. He refused 



52 



CHAPTER V. 



to resume his functions of instructor, and set him- 
self to make gunpowder at Mascara; but having 
no other resource, and that not being sufficient to 
maintain him, he set out for Morocco, from whence 
he hoped to pass into SpaiA. 

The Aga endeavours, since his departure, to 
instruct the soldiers himself in marching in step; 
but he succeeds very imperfectly in disciplining 
these tattered bands— enemies to all restraint and 
order. They charge well enough ; but as for march- 
ing and carrying their guns, they know absolutely 
nothing : the boys who, in France, play at soldiers 
in the streets, perform the exercise much better 
than the foot soldiers and horsemen of Abd-el- 
Kader. 

It is only since the month of September, 1836, 
that the Arab horsemen wear a vest and red 
breeches, d la Turque. They throw over them a 
haick and a bernou*. their feet are protected by 
Turkish slippers. They have a gun, a sabre, and 
a cartouch box, which contains a dozen cartridges. 
They never, on any occasion, part with the latter, 
which is suspended at their right hip, by means of 
a belt passed round the neck. 

The saddles of their horses are of wood, covered 
with Turkish leather; they are raised very high 
both before and behind, and the horseman is, in 
some measure, fitted in when on horseback. The 
stirrups are very short and very large ; the extre- 
mities are mounted, and they use them for striking 
their horses' sides. They, however, wear spurs, 



UNIFORM OF THE SOLDIERS. 



53 



which are nothing more than iron nails of eight or 
ten inches in length, with the points of which they 
wound their horses' flanks. The only horses which 
are shod are those belonging to the merchants, and 
which are destined to make long journeys. Those 
of Abd-el-Kader are not. 

The horseman places between the saddle and the 
horse's back six or eight coverings of inferior cloth, 
to preserve it from the wounds which the wood of 
the saddle might inflict. In spite of this precau- 
tion, the greater part of the Arabian horses have 
their backs galled. They never curry-comb them, 
but are satisfied with throwing some water on their 
bodies when they take them to drink. They 
remain, night and day, constantly exposed to the 
rain, cold, and sun. In consequence, the Arabian 
horses are very soon worn out ; they do not last 
longer than six years. The foot soldiers wear a 
woollen waistcoat, Turkish trowsers, a black vest, 
a hood, and slippers. Like the horsemen, they 
have a cartouch box and a gun ; in addition, a 
knife hangs at their belt. The richest of them 
carry a poignard, pistols, and yataghans. 

In the camp, as in the towns, and in the desert^ 
the Arabs pray six times a day ; at three, six, and 
eight o'clock in the morning ; at mid-day, four, and 
eight o'clock in the evening. 

Maraboots, turning to the four cardinal points, 
summon the faithful to prayer, exclaiming, in a 
slow and solemn voice, " God is God, and Mahom- 
med is his prophet : come and pay your homage ." 



54 



CHAPTER V. 



Then a maraboot recites the prayer in each tent. 
The attendants of Abd-el-Kader arrange them- 
selves in a right line at the entrance of his tent. 
The faithful commence by rubbing their hands and 
face with dust. They reply and bow down at all 
the signs and marks of adoration for the Supreme 
Being made by the maraboot. God is great — 
they throw themselves on the earth as a sign of 
their humiliation before the grandeur of God. 
The prayer concluded, they, wash their hands and 
face. They have a military band, which plays three 
times a day, before the tent of Abd-el-Kader — 
at mid-day, four o'clock, and eight o'clock, after the 
prayer. Three musicians, standing up, play the 
hautbois; three others, also standing up, strike the 
timbrels with sticks, and three others, seated on the 
ground, beat, with small drum-sticks, upon basons 
covered with goat-skin. 

Their musical collection is little varied ; they 
only know, I think, three airs, of which I have 
never been able to catch the melody. When the 
sultan is tired of hearing the* music, he makes a 
sign, and the musicians retire. 

Each chief carries with him a servant, whose 
duty it is to prepare coffee. These pitch a tent, 
where their masters retire to take their favourite 
beverage and smoke their pipes. The tobacco is 
very bad, and green, like chicory. I shall speak 
afterwards more fully of the cafes. 

In the evening, when returned to our tents, I 
asked Meurice if there were no other Christians in 



MUSIC, CAFES. 



55 



the camp beside ourselves. He replied that " two 
French deserters and three Sardinian prisoners 
shared our sorrowful condition." I expressed a 
desire to see these companions in misfortune ; 
Meurice rose, and said he would fetch them. In 
fact, he returned in five minutes with the five 
Europeans. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Two Deserters. — Coral Fishers. — Massacre of the Crew of the 
Barques "La Conception," "Lk Saint Jean le Baptiste," 
And " Le Jesus et Marie." — Kindness of the Women of 
Tenez. — Three Coral Fishers sold to Abd-el-Kader. — A 
Little Cabin Boy. — He is sent to the Wife of Abd-el-Kader. 
—Recent Details respecting the Coral Fishers. 

The two deserters related to me the history of their 
misfortune in energetic terms, and traced a fright- 
ful picture of the deplorable state into which they 
were plunged. In spite of their willingness to 
serve the Arabs, and furnish them with useful expe- 
dients, they nearly allowed them to die of hunger, 
and overwhelmed them with the most humiliating , 
marks of contempt. They expressed to me their 
repentance and regret in having ever abandoned 
their colours, and the joy they would have in 
rejoining them, provided a promise was given 
them, that they should not be shot. Meurice 
added, that one of the deserters, named Jean 
Mardulin, had rendered him many services, and 
that this unfortunate man deserved our being 
interested in his fate. The cruel treatment of the 
Arabs was a sufficiently severe punishment for his 
desertion. 

The coral fishers were as sad, and still more 
unfortunate than the deserters. As we had no 



CORAL FISHERS, 



57 



other pastime than conversing together on our 
misfortunes, we stretched ourselves on the earth in 
the tent, and I requested one of the fishers to relate 
how he and his comrades had fallen into the 
power of the Arabs, which he did in the following 
terms. 

" Between Chercell and Mousthaganem, at some 
thousand fathoms from the coast, opposite Tenez, 
is an uninhabited island ; it is merely a rock, under 
which small vessels may shelter themselves. 

"In the earlier days of July, 1836, our three 
Sardinian coral vessels, ( Le Saint Jean Baptiste, 
La Conception, Le Jesus et Marie/ stopped there, 
at a spot where Angelo Floria, owner of the Saint 
Jean Baptiste and La Conception, had discovered a 
coral bank abundantly supplied. 

u Arrived at the island, we found two vessels, the 
one on shore, the other afloat. The latter imme- 
diately hastened to throw a rope to the other. Six 
Moors of Chercell, whom we had known at Algiers, 
got into them. 

"We were delighted to find ourselves among 
acquaintances, and we asked the Moors if we had 
nothing to dread from the Arabs who dwell on 
the coast of Tenez. They replied that the Arabs 
need cause us no fear, as they had no vessels to 
enable them to reach the island. f They might/ 
added they, 'take advantage of our ships, if they 
heard of your presence in these parts, or if they 
should discover from the coast your three vessels. 
But, in order that they may not ask us what you 



58 



CHAPTER VI. 



are seeking around the island, and to deprive them 
of all means of arriving here, we engage, during 
the time of your fishing, not to go to the main land, 
on the single condition that you will supply us 
with food/ 

" We quickly accepted their proposition ; we were 
entirely without distrust. We had often seen these 
Moors at Algiers ; we had often smoked and taken 
coffee with them, and were persuaded we had to 
deal with honest people. 

" We then divided our buiscuit and eau de vie with 
them, and began our fishery, which was very abun- 
dant for five successive days. The coral we 
collected was worth 1800 francs. We were very 
well contented, and told the Moors how satisfied 
we were with the success of our fishery ; they 
appeared uneasy, and we perceived upon their 
countenances marks of agitation and secret inqui- 
etude. 

" Angelo Floria, owner of the Saint Jean Bap- 
tiste and La Conception, was the first to perceive 
this change. The prolongation of their stay upon 
an arid and uninhabited roqk caused him, more- 
over, to suspect the good faith of the Moors. He 
had visited that neighbourhood for a long time, and 
he knew, that the first quality of a ship captain in 
this country is to distrust the Arabs. He commu- 
nicated to us his suspicions and uneasiness, and 
requested us to be on our guard against the perfi- 
dious manoeuvres of our pretended friends, at all 
times wrapped in mystery and silence. 



MASSACRE OF THE CREW. 



59 



" The remarks of Floria produced a profound 
impression upon all on board the three vessels. 
Every one agreed with him that we ought to quit 
the island ; and on the morning of the sixth day 
we agreed to leave the anchorage, and to withdraw 
the same evening to the east of Cape Tenez. We 
knew we should find at that spot as safe an anchor- 
age as that we then occupied. 

" The wind freshened during the day. La Con- 
ception and Jesus et Marie were, unfortunately, not 
able to double the Cape. The owner of the Saint 
Jean Baptiste had arrived at the anchorage indi- 
cated, but not finding the other two vessels, he soon 
rejoined us under the island from which we had in 
vain endeavoured to depart. 

" Daring the working of the Saint Jean Baptiste, 
some of us, after having secured the Jesus et Marie 
and La Conception, disembarked on the rock. We 
were immediately assailed by a shower of balls, and 
a crowd of Arabs from Tenez, conducted by the 
Moors, pounced upon us, with their yataghans in 
their hands. I remained, with my two companions 
and a cabin boy, in the power of the Tenesians. 
The remainder of the crew threw themselves into the 
sea. and were exposed to a severe fusilade from the 
Arabs. I had received eight cuts of the yataghan, 
in endeavouring to knock down the wretches who 
had so cowardly betrayed us. I also received 
abuse and blows both of the stick and musket 
stocks. We saw our companions killed before our 
eyes. We were witness to the burning of the 



60 



CHAPTER VI. 



Jesus et Marie and La Conception, and the pillage 
of every thing on board. 

" After the division of the booty, the Arabs set 
out for Tenez. On the way they made a halt, 
during which time they canvassed the question of 
our preservation or death ; at length, after a long 
discussion, they decided on conducting us alive 
to Abd-el-Kader, in the hope of obtaining more 
money from him, 

<f We remained two days at Tenez. The kind 
reception of the inhabitants repaid us for the suf- 
ferings and bad treatment on the journey. The 
Kait of Tenez seemed to interest himself in our 
fate. He never quitted us a moment, and enquired 
of us with lively curiosity the details of the coral fish- 
ery. Our explanation of the manner of collecting 
it seemed to amuse him much. He also prevented 
the Arabs striking us. The women of the village 
displayed great kindness and -pity towards me. I 
had eight yataghan wounds on my body. These 
excellent women never left me a moment ; and 
they passed the whole time I remained at Tenez in 
rubbing my wounds with honey and butter. They 
also gave me, as well as my companions, white 
bread and fruit. They overwhelmed the little 
cabin boy with caresses. On seeing all the care, 
all the attentions by which I was surrounded, I 
fancied myself at Genoa, rather than on the coasts 
of Barbary. I shall always remember the women 
of Tenez, and the kindness they showered upon me 
with so much zeal and disinterestedness. 



THE CABIN BOY. 



61 



" We set out from Tenez two days after our mis- 
fortune, and we soon arrived at the camp of Abd- 
el-Kader. We have been prisoners a month, 
without any intelligence of our comrades. We 
know not if we shall be ransomed or exchanged. 
Bad treatment and misery are not wanting. How- 
ever, I am quite cured of my wounds, and we are 
all three of us in hopes, with the assistance of the 
Holy Virgin, and that of the French governor in 
Africa, it will end by our being restored to liberty, 
and returning to our homes. 

" Abd-el-Kacler has sent the cabin boy to his 
wife. It seems he is very well off with her, and 
that the women are as kind to children as the 
Arabs are barbarians to the men. By means of 
cajoleries, the Bedouins will make the little fellow 
forget his country, his mother, the Holy Virgin, 
and will teach him their prayers, and make him 
a Mahometan. We have not yet seen him since 
our separation; but I hope that we shall meet 
him on the day that Abd-el-Kader breaks up his 
camp. 

" Lieutenant, if you write to the Governor, or 
to the military authorities at Oran and Algiers, I 
entreat you to say some few words in favour of 
three poor Christians. You will not forget me, 
Lieutenant. I have no more to say." 

I gave the three fishermen the assurance that L 
would interest myself in their fate as soon as I 
could attend to my own. They then retired to the 
kitchen tent, where they were lodged. 



CHAPTER VII. 



Letters to Admiral Dufresne and General Rapatel.— The 
Camp is broken up.— Order of March. — The Infantry. — 
The Baggage. — Honours paid to Abd-el-Kader. — Cavalry.— 
March. — The Camp pitched anew. — Mousthaganem. — The 
Sultan's Entry into his Camp on Horseback. — Alertness 
of the Arabs during the Night. — Departure. — Return to 
El-Kaala. 

I had asked permission of Abd-el-Kader to write 
to Algiers and Oran. I was desirous of informing 
the authorities of these two cities of my captivity, 
and my arrival at the camp of the Sultan. The 
same evening, about eight o'clock, a maraboot 
conducted me to the tent of Abd-el-Kader. The 
latter then gave me a pen, which was nothing 
more than a piece of reed, a small sheet of com- 
mon paper, as large as my hand, and his copper 
inkstand, the form of which is long and square. 
On one side is the ink, on the other a drawer, 
contrived in the frame- work of the box, in which the 
pens are placed. A slave brought a candlestick, 
of copper and lead, similar to those which de- 
corate the principal altars of the country churches 
in France. I sat down on the ground, and, at 
a sign from Abd-el-Kader, a negro brought me a 
small chest, in which the Sultan keeps his jewels, 
to serve as a table. I addressed a letter to Ad- 
miral Dufresne, and another to General Rapatel. 



THE CAMP IS BROKEN UP. 



63 



I informed them of my captivity ; I described to 
them the misery of the prisoners ; and entreated 
them to think of our deliverance and hasten our 
exchange. I gave the two letters to Abd-el-Kader: 
he assured me they should be sent the next day.* 

We were awakened very early the next morning 
by the chief of our tent. 

" Dogs of Christians ! sons of dogs ! get up ; 
they are going to take down the tent ; the Sultan 
has ordered us to break up the camp." 

He had scarcely pronounced these words, when 
the stakes and canvas of the tent fell upon Meu- 
rice and me. It was one of the thousand malicious 
tricks, and of the thousand agreeable pleasantries, 
with which the Arabs never ceased treating us. 
This conduct had a great effect upon Meurice; as 
for me, I have always displayed the greatest in- 
difference to it, and I believe it is the only method 
of checking their maliciousness and brutality. He 
who despises danger, who opposes sang froid and 
firmness to threats, always ends by obtaining the 
esteem, almost the respect, of these beings, which 
is by no means flattering, I admit, but still very 
useful, when our lives depend on their pleasure. 
We had the greatest difficulty in freeing ourselves 
from the covering. We resembled two fish caught 
in a net. 

While we were striving to disengage ourselves the 

* I have never received any answer to these letters, and am 
assured, since my return to Algiers, that they had never been 
sent to their address. 



64 



CHAPTER VII. 



drum beat. It gave the signal for rising. A few 
moments afterwards we heard a second roll. It was 
the signal for the departure of the infantry, which 
immediately commenced its march. At the same 
time, the camels, mules, and pack-horses ap- 
proached the tents. They filled panniers, plaited 
with the leaves of the palm tree, with the articles 
they wished to carry away, and placed them on 
the animals. 

A third roll of the drum gave the signal for 
the muleteers and camel-drivers to set out with the 
baggage. Meurice and I were placed in the middle 
of this convoy, the movements of which Ben-Faka 
had the charge of watching during the journey. 
By Abd-el-Kader's order, Ben-Faka made us 
mount each upon one of the two mules which 
carried the Sultan's coffers . The Italian sailors 
were not so well treated ; they gave them camels. 

I remarked, while they were placing the baggage 
on the animals, eight boxes, badly closed. They 
contained cartridges, and formed the reserve am- 
munition. When they raise the camp, Abd-el- 
Kader, who was up, like all the Arabs, at three 
o'clock in the morning, to repeat his prayers, 
ceases not praying until all the tents are struck, 
and his only remains for the slaves to fold up. 
He then goes out of his tent, removes a few paces 
distant, and seats himself upon a silken cushion ; 
the maraboots and principal chiefs surround him. 
During this time, the horsemen assemble and 
arrange themselves, Mouftar at their head, in a line 



ORDER OF MARCH. 



65 



on the right of Abd-el-Kader; the thirty negro 
slaves place themselves on the left, in a single 
line ; and we may judge of the beautiful arrange- 
ment, by imagining this line of thirty horsemen 
facing a line of three hundred. The chiefs and 
the maraboots then mount on horseback, and, as 
soon as the baggage has passed the boundaries of 
the camp, a slave advances, holding by the bridle 
the horse of Abd-el-Kader, and followed by another 
slave, carrying the stool of which the Sultan makes 
use, as a step, to place himself in the saddle. 

Abd-el-Kader has several horses, but gives the 
preference to a magnificent black one. The Sul- 
tan's legs are short, and his body long. The cus- 
tom of the Arabs having the stirrups very short is 
therefore advantageous; it prevents the dispropor- 
tion between his legs and the rest of his body being 
seen. His bearing on horseback is gracious, and, 
at the same time, imposing. He is the best horse- 
man I have met with among the Arabs. 

As soon as the Sultan is mounted, the chiefs 
give the signal of departure. The nine musicians, 
on horseback, open the march ; after them come 
eight Arabs, carrying long guns, in wrappers of 
red cloth. I have often asked to examine them, 
but they have always replied, " They are the Sul- 
tan's arms ; a dog of a Christian like thee is not 
worthy to look at them." 

These eight Arabs are followed by the four 
horsemen, carrying the four flags I have already 
mentioned. 



66 



CHAPTER VII. 



After them Abd-el-Kader advances, in the centre 
of a body of cavalry. The thirty negroes come 
after him, and the march is closed by the remainder 
of the horsemen, who follow pell-mell. The Arabs 
never set out until the moment the sun begins to 
shine. 

They observe no order or discipline on the 
march. Thus, when a foot soldier or a horseman 
perceives a fruit tree, or an isolated tent, he sepa- 
rates himself from the corps to which he belongs, 
and hastens to strip the branches of the tree, or 
pillage the tent. Two mules, thinner and leaner 
than the most miserable car horses, harnessed in 
the most singular manner, draw the cannon of 
which I have already spoken. Not a day passes, 
when the army is on the march, in which it is not 
overthrown three or four times, or sunk in the mud. 
I hope some fine morning they will be obliged to 
leave it buried in the sand. It will be a happy 
circumstance for the unfortunate gunners. There 
will be so much the less useless labour, and they 
will no longer burn their hands in firing it off. 

On the 17th August, then, we left the neigh- 
bourhood of El-Kaala, and arrived the same day, 
one hour after noon, in the plain of Mousthaganem, 
at four leagues from that city.* 

* Mousthaganem, a town situated six leagues from the left 
hank of the river ChelifF, and a quarter of a league from the 
sea, is "built on a hill of considerable height, and is divided by 
a ravine. It is surrounded by a circle of fortifications, in very 
bad state. Several exterior forts assist in its defence. They 
formerly counted in Mousthaganem 12,000 inhabitants, the 



THE CAMP PITCHED ANEW. 



67 



Ben-Faka marked out the spot where the camp 
was to be pitched, which is his especial duty. The 
infantry arrived there first, and as soon as the 
bag-gage had reached the spot, the muleteers and 
camel-drivers unloaded the burthens, and the sol- 
diers began to erect the tents. 

The Arabs always turn the doors of their tents 
to the east, and they find out the position so cor- 
rectly, even in the worst weather, that the first sun 
which shows itself always casts its earliest rays 
through the door. Habit supplies the place of 
science, and leads them to results which civilized 
man does not attain without long study. I have 
made a similar remark every time I have been in 
the country in France, and watched the peasants 
at their labours. The shepherds and labourers, 
from the observations of their fathers, and those 
they are in the habit of making daily themselves, 
foresee, with a great deal of certainty, the changes 
of wind, the arrival of rain, and the weather of the 
following day. Ben-Faka himself overlooks the 
slaves, who have to prepare the Sultan's tent before 
all others. They take care to water the approach 
to it. While they were just completing it, the 
harsh and shrill sound of the music announced 
the arrival of Abd-el-Kader. 

When the cavalry was a short distance from the 
camp, the horsemen detached themselves in troops, 
set off at full speed, and when they had passed to 

greater part of whom occupied themselves in making gold em- 
broidery. The population is much less at present. 



68 



CHAPTER VII. 



a distance of three hundred paces, quickly turned 
their horses, returned at a furious gallop, aiming 
at Abd-el-Kader with their guns. The moment 
they reached the Sultan, they turned on one side 
the muzzle of their pieces, and discharged them 
between the horses' legs, This game, the object 
of which is to pay Abd-el-Kader the military 
honours due to his rank, lasts until his arrival at 
the camp. Then the remainder of the horsemen 
hastened to form themselves in line of battle to the 
right of the tent, while the thirty negroes filed one 
by one on the left. The band of musicians filled 
the air with their discordant symphonies, and the 
report of the cannon, sent from hill to hill by the 
wind, announced to the neighbouring tribes the 
arrival of the Sultan in his camp. Abd-el-Kader 
passed through the middle of the space formed by 
his cavalry, casting upon his Arabs a look in which 
was painted the pride and despotism of a chief, 
and at the same time making his horse caracol. 
Two slaves, armed with long poles, raised the cor- 
ner of the tent, the horse reared up, filled the air 
with fierce neighs, fell back upon his hind legs, and 
advanced thus into the interior of the tent, tram- 
pling under his feet the carpets which covered the 
ground. Abd-el-Kader, however, with a proud and 
easy air, contemplated his Arabs, who, with mouth 
open, admired his address and graceful action. 

As soon as the charger stopped, the zealous Ben- 
Faka prostrated himself, and offered his back in 
form of a footstool. A slave led the horse away, 



HONOURS PAID TO ABD-EL-KADER. 69 

and walked it for ten minutes before the tent; the 
maraboots and principal chiefs surrounded Abd-el- 
Kader ; Mouftar ordered the drums to beat. They 
broke their ranks, and each horseman proceeded 
to fasten his horse before the tent the baggagemen 
had prepared for him. 

The chiefs of the neighbouring tribes, informed 
by the noise of the cannon, hastened to pay their 
homage to the Sultan. They entered pell-mell into 
the tent, hurried towards Abd-el-Kader, who was 
seated upon his sofa, and kissed his hand, in sign 
of respect and obedience, the turban formed by 
the folds of his haick, and one of the corners of 
his bernou. Abd-el-Kader pretended to kiss their 
hands in return. On this day he received the 
visits of very few Arabs ; the greater number had 
joined the French. They brought that evening 
only a little couscoussou for the soldiers' food. 

In the night, the drummers gave the signal of 
alarm. Every one rose, and the report spread, 
that Ibrahim, Bey of Mousthaganem, had made a 
sortie with his troops, and was marching to meet 
the Sultan. At midnight, Abd-el-Kader left the 
camp, with his cavalry, and proceeded in the di- 
rection where Ibrahim was supposed to be, with the 
intention of watching his movements. 

From Abd-el-Kader^s departure until his return, 
great disorder and agitation reigned in the camp. 
Being perfectly indifferent to all this, I had tran- 
quilly laid myself down behind a bale of goods. 
Meuriee, not finding me in the tent, sought me the 



70 CHAPTER VII. 

whole of the night in all the corners of the camp, 
enquiring of the French deserters and the coral- 
fishers, where I could be. All their search was 
useless, and Meurice was convinced I had taken 
advantage of the general confusion to escape. A 
violent despair then seized him, and he sat down 
to weep over his fate. He accused me of indiffer- 
ence and cruelty. — " How could I have fled without 
letting him know, and inviting him to follow me ! 
He was alone among the Arabs. His captivity 
had lasted five months, and I had only passed a 
few days with our enemies." He allowed his thoughts 
to sink into despondency. He had forgotten I 
could scarcely walk : my feet were covered with 
wounds. The bad treatment, moreover, must have 
made him very distrustful, to suppose for a mo- 
ment I could have abandoned him. He was, more- 
over, constantly on the look-out for news of every 
description ; and, in his ardour to recover his liberty, 
he collected the most extravagant and contradictory 
reports : his credulity was that of a child. It is true, 
the alarm which reigned in the camp had caused 
the attention to the prisoners to be neglected, and 
the general tumult singularly favoured an attempt 
at escape. It was the only opportunity which 
presented itself during my captivity (we were only 
four leagues from Mousthaganem), but the state 
in which my feet were absolutely prevented my 
profiting by it. 

Meurice found me at sunrise ; I was sleeping 
profoundly. His joy was extreme, as he squeezed 



RETURN TO EL-KAALA. 



71 



ray hand, but not so great as his astonishment at 
seeing me sleeping peacefully, in the midst of the 
commotion and agitation in the camp. How de- 
lighted I should have been, to have made him share 
my tranquillity ! But a continual disquietude ruled 
all his faculties, and I have never been able to 
withdraw him from its influence, even for a moment. 

Abd-el-Kader returned to the camp at daybreak. 
He had not met Ibrahim, and brought the news the 
French army had left Oran four days previously. 
He was not entirely reassured, with regard to Ibra- 
him ; and in the ignorance as to the direction he 
had taken, he ordered the camp to be raised. We 
retraced our steps, and halted at five minutes' dis- 
tance from El-Kaala, about eleven o'clock in the 
morning. 

The inhabitants of Kaala showed themselves 
much annoyed and discontented at this fresh visit 
of Abd-el-Kader. They had to feed his troops and 
support his camp, all of which dried up their re- 
sources. In consequence, they did not come to 
pay their homage, when the report of the cannon 
informed them of his arrival. The Turks, who 
inhabit the town, fled to the mountains, to save 
their money. Abd-el-Kader, perceiving the bad 
disposition of the inhabitants of Kaala, immediately 
set out for that town with fifty horsemen. He soon 
returned. His horsemen were loaded with carpets 
and different articles, carried off from the most 
refractory ; and while the horsemen spread out 
their booty before the tent of the Sultan, and the 



72 



CHAPTER VII. 



chiefs distributed it to the different individuals, 
according to their rank, the inhabitants of Kaala 
mourned for their lost riches, and, with hearts full 
of resentment, fired six cannon to salute the Sultan, 
and express the joy his presence afforded them. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Delightful Encampment.— Favourable Position for an Agri- 
cultural Establishment and Water-mills. — Abd-el-Kadee 

GAVE ME A FEW SOUS TO DIVIDE BETWEEN MEURICE AMD MY- 
SELF. — The Tribes come to pay their Imposts. — Description 
of the Train. — Excellent Eepast. — We hate Coffee. — Abd- 
el-Kader receives the three Convoys from Morocco. — Two 
Spies — The Sultan opens the Letters of General Letang. 

We set out the next day, the 23d August, at five 
o'clock in the morning-, from Kaala, and directed 
our route towards the north. After seven hours' 
march we stopped at the extremity of the plain of 
Mousthaganero, on the side of the river Cheliff. 
The camp was pitched upon a mountain, in the 
midst of a wood of oaks and mastic trees. This 
mountain borders the whole length of the plain of 
Mousthaganem, the full extent of which the eye 
embraced. I cannot better compare the position 
of our camp than to that which the ruins of old 
feudal manor-houses occupy, in the provinces where 
they have not yet been swept away to make room 
for more modern edifices. It was upon a steep 
rock, on the declivity of a mountain, that the seig- 
neurs always placed their castles ; not only to be 
protected from a sudden attack, and be in an im- 
pregnable position, but also to watch over the serfs 
on the plain, and defend them against the inroads 



74 



CHAPTER VIII. 



of the neighbouring lords. Such was the spot that 
Ben-Faka had chosen, on which to establish the 
camp. The tent of Abd-el-Kader was situated 
about a hundred fathoms from a very abundant 
spring, which spouts from the earth, and forms a 
basin of limpid and clear water, of a surface of 
about twenty square feet, supplying several brooks 
which water the plain. i 

As it was very warm, Zaka, Abd-el-Kader' s cup- 
bearer, made the slaves dig two small drains, which 
led the water from the basin to the tent of the 
Sultan ; there it was -..received into two trenches. 
The curtains, w T hich occupy the space between the 
cords which fasten the ends of the tent to the earth, 
were raised, which thus presented the appearance 
of a small island. I thought Faka's contrivance 
very ingenious and refined. The water preserved 
a delightful freshness in the tent, and offered a 
pleasing sight. 

We occupied, moreover, a most picturesque 
and cheerful position. The plain of Mousthaga- 
nem, the natural riches of which could easily be 
made productive, if pains were only taken to make 
use of the water which the neighbouring mountains 
supply, spread itself at our feet, covered with herds, 
tents, and numerous crops. A ravine, crowned 
with fig, olive, almond, peach, apricot trees, and 
vines, connects the plain with the mountain. Small 
gardens, abundantly supplied with fruit trees and 
flowers, marked out on the two declivities of the 
ravine, in the middle of which the rivulets, which 



DELIGHTFUL ENCAMPMENT. 



75 



flow to fertilize the plain, have worn their bed, 
offer a varied and delightful prospect. The situa- 
tion is delightful. I might be tempted to write an 
idyle, t$) speak of the murmuring of the waters, 
rolling over the golden sands, their crystal clearness, 
the perfume of the flowers and the plants, listen- 
ing, in the midst of this solitude, like dreamy and 
careless seraglio females, to the song of the birds. 
But I leave these descriptions to others, and prefer 
being prosaic and matter-of-fact. 

They might derive great advantage from this 
site, if they were to form agricultural establish- 
ments in the plain, or if they were to build mills 
in this mountain gorge. The waterfalls are suffi- 
cient to move the wheels, and communicate life 
and motion to manufactories of every description. 
Besides, the barley and wheat they might reap on 
the plain with facility and in abundance, by col- 
lecting the waters at the foot of the mountain in 
large tanks, and by means of irrigating canals, they 
might constantly preserve fertile meadows, from 
w T hich a great quantity of hay might be obtained; 
without taking into consideration the after-grass, 
which would often be equal to the first crop. 

We discovered, near the camp, the ruins of a 
water-mill. _ The Spaniards, doubtless, were the 
erectors of it. 

The sight of this landscape, and the resources 
it assured the camp, excited the joy of the troops. 
I shared the general satisfaction. Abd-el-Kader 
was in good humour ; and in a generous vein. 



76 



CHAPTER VIII. 



He ordered twelve small pieces, of eight mou- 
soune^ each, to be given to me to share with 
Meurice. This proof of the Sultan's munificence 
was effectual in driving from my mind unpleasant 
presentiments. I forgot the misery of the present 
to think of the future. This liberality, — which I 
was far from expecting, — this public manifestation 
of good- will, made me hope a speedy exchange, 
more particularly as the Arabs whom General 
Bugeaud had taken to Marseilles were as impatient 
as I was to be restored to liberty and their countrye 

In the morning they brought some melons, 
water melons, peaches, figs, and grapes, of which 
we received a share. We regaled ourselves ; the 
grapes in particular were excellent, and far superior 
to the most famous French grapes. 

I spent a part of the day in admiring the land- 
scape which unrolled itself at our feet, and in 
wandering along the course of the little rivulets 
which flowed round Abd-el-Kader's tent. I had 
stretched myself in the shade, and given way to 
pleasant reveries, when I was aroused by a lively 
and cheerful scene. 

Towards four o'clock, all the neighbouring tribes, f 
headed by their Kaits, came to the camp to pay 
their imposts. The Kaits, on horseback, armed 
with a baton, preceded each tribe. The Arabs, 

* The mousoune is worth one sou.- Twelve small pieces, of 
eight mousoune each, are worth four francs eighty cents of 
French money. 

f A tribe is composed of several families, who live in tents„ 
They are each governed by a chief, whom they call Kait, and 
who is appointed by Abd-el-Kader. 



/ 



TRIBES COME TO PAY THEIR IMPOSTS. 77 

men, women, and children, followed them, two and 
two, carrying on their heads dishes of couscoussou. 
The richest walked out of the ranks, bearing entire 
sheep, roasted and spitted, on wooden poles. Ar- 
rived before the tent of Abd-el-Kader, the chief 
advanced, and announced to the Sultan that he had 
brought the tribute. The one party then placed 
their dishes at the entrance of the tent, the other 
party rested their spits upon the earth, and held 
them in a vertical position. The dishes of cous- 
coussou, composed of honey, hard eggs, dried 
grapes, boiled poultry, quarters of mutton, pre- 
sented to the eye a very varied and appetizing 
sight. The Arabs immediately hastened into the 
tent to salute the Sultan ; many, favoured by the 
tumult, attempted to pilfer the dishes placed on the 
earth, but the Kaits dispersed the multitude with 
their sticks, and succeeded, not without difficulty, in 
re-establishing order. Abd-el-Kader cast a glance 
at the dishes placed in symmetrical order before his 
tent, and Ben-Faka then distributed the provisions 
in the camp. 

As soon as Abd-el-Kader had finished his repast, 
Ben-Faka, who always waits upon him, brought 
the remains of the feast to our tent. They spread 
a skin on the carpet which covered the centre of 
the ground, upon which they placed the dish of 
couscoussou touched by the Sultan. That same 
evening we had a roasted sheep for our tent. Ben- 
Faka and other maraboots seated themselves in a 
circle around the leathern table cover, and devoured 
the sheep and the couscoussou without bread, and 



78 



CHAPTER VIII. 



by tearing it with their fingers. The Sultan had 
put back on the dish the bones and pieces of meat 
which he had touched. The maraboots and Ben- 
Faka, after having cut up the sheep, and the cous- 
coussou also, left on the dish the bones and meat 
they did not wish to eat; and when these great 
personages had satisfied their hunger, the remains 
passed into third hands, and formed the supper of 
Abd-el-Kader's slaves, who knawed the bones and 
fragments of meat like dogs. 

Ben-Faka summoned Meurice and me to par- 
take of the feast. He threw beyond the circle a 
piece of the mutton, which we eat, like the Arabs, 
without bread, and tearing it with the fingers. We 
had also a few scraps from the dish of couscoussou. 
The water was contained in leathern bottles. Each 
of the guests used the same cup for drinking; 
they never washed it, and, of course, the prisoners 
were always the last to drink. No matter ; after 
the privations of every description to which we 
had been subjected, we found the repast excellent 
To conclude a day thus happily commenced, and 
to close a dinner in which we had eaten meat, I 
asked the permission of Ben-Faka to have some 
coffee brought. 

" Coffee for a dog of a Christian \" 

" And why not ? 

" But who will pay for it ?" 

" Has not the Sultan given us some money this 
morning ?" 

" The Sultan is great and generous ; is he not ?" 
"Your Sultan is great, generous, magnificent; 



EXCELLENT REPAST. 



79 



he has given six pieces, (forty-eight sous;) cer- 
tainly if ever I am exchanged. I will proclaim his 
liberality among the Christians." 

The words softened Ben-Faka's obstinacy. His 
coffee maker entered at this moment ; he ordered 
him to bring us some coffee. 

Ben-Faka shared the general joy; he began to 
converse with us, and to tell us the power and 
the riches of his master, I remarked that he con- 
versed so long, and with such apparent cordiality, 
in order to induce us to request his protection, 
and to promise him presents when we should have 
returned to Algiers. He showed us a snuff box, 
on the top of which was a small mirror* It 
would be impossible to paint the admiration of the 
maraboots and Arabs who were in the tent, at the 
sight of this treasure. Ben-Faka was as proud 
and as happy in the possession of this box, as a 
Jew would be in possession of the most valuable 
jewel in the crown of the King of Spain. 

Meurice, who never lost an opportunity of main- 
taining the good disposition of the Arabs, and 
who was always seeking to render them favourable 
to him, promised Ben-Faka to send him a gold 

* The Arabs are quite as unacquainted with the productions 
of civilized life as the inhabitants of the most distant islands. 
When some, who were our allies, came on board the Aleyone, 
they did not cease admiring the copper covering over the 
compass. This covering is polished, and kept well bright; 
the Arabs saw themselves in it, and I have seen several, like 
apes, when a mirror is presented to them, pass and repass, 
attempt to catch their image, place their hands upon it, and 
even raise it, to satisfy themselves there was no one concealed 
beneath it 



80 



CHAPTER VIII. 



snuff box from Algiers when he had recovered his 
liberty. I allow you to guess the joy of the mi- 
nister of finance of the great Sultan, and the pro- 
mises of regard for the dog of a Christian ! 

The slave of Ben-Faka's coffee maker interrupted 
our conversation. He carried upon a tin tray two 
small earthenware cups, which he placed before 
us. These cups have no handles; in order that 
one may be able to take hold of them without 
burning the fingers, they are placed in small cop- 
per saucers. I found the coffee excellent ; it was 
served in the Turkish style, with the grounds. 
Each cup, with the moist sugar, cost a sou; and 
they gave us, in addition, a pipe to smoke. 

I still recal to mind this day with pleasure ; it 
so little resembled the other days of my captivity. 
We had no bad treatment to endure ; Abd-el-Kader 
and Ben-Faka showed us every kindness. More- 
over, during the whole of this encampment, we 
suffered neither hunger nor cold. The weather 
was beautiful ; we had fruit in abundance. Dur- 
ing the night I stole some white bread from the 
sacks ; the tranquillity in which they left us, the 
food, the beautiful sun which warmed us, afforded 
some hours of, I may almost say, happiness. 

It has been said that Abd-el-Kader obtained 
from the empire of Morocco neither money, pow- 
der, clothing, biscuit, nor arms. The information 
collected in Morocco is contradicted by the facts 
which Meurice and I were eye-witnesses of. 

The 7th August, 1836, a convoy arrived at the 
camp of Abd-el-Kader from Morocco, bringing 



THE THREE CONVOYS FROM MOROCCO. 81 



shirts, caps, slippers, breeches, and cloaks, for six 
hundred men. 

Meurice saw this convoy, and has entered the 
date of its arrival at the camp in his note book. 

On the 15th August, a convoy of fifteen camels, 
loaded with gunpowder and balls, arrived from 
Morocco. 

Meurice has also marked the following date in 
his book. 

25th August. Abd-el-Kader has received from 
the empire of Morocco a supply of biscuits and 
saltpetre. 

When this last convoy was unloaded before 
Abd-el-Kader's tent, Ben-Faka called, and said, 
while counting the bales which the slaves were 
carrying to the magazines, 

" See if the Sultan is not great ! His power 
extends to the distance ; his allies have not deserted 
him." 

" You think, then, your master more powerful 
than the King of France ? You think the resources 
he with difficulty obtains from his ally can be 
compared with those our fine country supply. Go, 
a night of bad weather, one battle, will exhaust 
all these supplies." 

" Son of a dog ! guard thy tongue better next 
time, and Ben-Faka accompanied this address by 
a blow of a stick which fell on my legs, and an 
ejection of spittle which my face received. 

I withdrew, without saying a word, promising 
to myself to put in practice the secret he had just 
taught me. 

e 2 



82 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Every time the Arabs saw a convoy arrive from 
Morocco, joy spread through the camp, and the 
horsemen paid the same honours to the chief of 
the convoy as to Abd-el-Kader, and which I have 
already described. 

On the 28th August, two Arab spies arrived in 
the camp. The one brought a great number of 
gun flints, which he had purchased at Oran ; the 
other, charged by the French government to carry 
the correspondence of the Governor of Tlewcen to 
to the General in command at Oran, delivered a 
packet of letters to Abd-el-Kader. 

Abd-el-Kader broke the seals, summoned Meu- 
rice, and ordered him to read them. Meurice 
obeyed. Abd-el-Kader then re-sealed them, and 
forwarded them to Oran, where they were ad- 
dressed. 

A few days afterwards the same Arab, who still 
filled the employ of French courier, returned to 
the camp, bringing Abd-el-Kader the reply of 
General Letang, Commandant at Oran, to the let- 
ters of the Commandant at Tlemcen. Abd-el-Kader 
summoned me, he unsealed the letters before me 
with great precaution, and ordered me to read 
them aloud. 

The General informed the Commandant of 
Tlemcen that he had returned from his expedition 
against the Beni-Amers. He had accomplished it 
without striking a blow. He had emptied the Silos* 

* Silos. They are large holes, formed with great care in the 
earth, the top of which is rough-cast. These caves are the 
granaries of the Arahs, and contain their wheat, barley, and 



LETTERS OF GENERAL LET AN G. 



S3 



of the Arabs, against whom he had directed his 
sortie. 

''The officers of the brig 'Loiret/ added Ge- 
neral L&tang in his letter, stationed at Arzew, have 
been foolish enough to go hunting. Lieutenant 
de France has fallen into the hands of the 
Arabs." 

I took care not to read the first part of the letter ; 
I only read the article which concerned ine. 

" Is that all there is °" said Abd-el-Kader to 
me. 

" Yes." 

" You are deceiving me." 

" Read, then, yourself;" (I was certain he could 
not read French.) 

" But there is no mention of the movements of 
the Christian forces; he ought to have informed 
the chief at Tlemcen of them." 

M It seems he ought not ; since he has not 
written them." 

" Go." 

I returned to our tent, where I hastened to fore- 
warn Meurice of what had occurred. At the same 
moment a maraboot entered, and ordered Murice 
to appear before the Sultan. 

It was well I had informed him of the deception 
I had practised on Abd-el-Kader. The Sultan 

straw. They can only enter them by means of a hole con- 
trived in the upper part, the form of which resembles that of a 
reversed funnel, through which a man can scarcely descend. 
These magazines are constructed with so much care, that nei- 
ther water or damp ever penetrate, and the proyisions are per- 
fectly preserved. % 



84 



CHAPTER VIII. 



sent him back satisfied, and having quite aban- 
doned any suspicion on my account ; for he had 
suspected deceit, and if Meurice had read what I 
had omitted, his chaous would soon have put me 
out of condition ever to relate that the Sultan 
unseals the letters of our Generals, and say that 
he would not be able to keep the field long without 
the assistance of Morocco. 

Meurice's health began to be restored ; I myself 
supported my captivity with more patience and 
courage. But good days, in adversity, are rare, 
and pass quickly ; whilst bad ones are numerous, 
and roll slowly over. The tranquillity which the 
Arabs allowed us to enjoy did not last long, and 
bad treatment soon banished our joy, and the 
hopes we had so easily conceived. 



/ 



CHAPTER IX. 



The Ouet-Mina. — Abd-el-Kader imposes a Douele Impost.— 
grree dixess of the arabs. — booty. — prisoners.— a young 
Negro Female. — Sale of Slates.— Defections. — The Uxcle 
of Abd-el-Kader. — He refuses to submit to the Sultan's 
authority. — Discouragement of the Troops. — Punishment 

OF THE EeBELS. — J EWS SENT TO MASCARA — INSURRECTION OF THE 

Beni-Flitas and Kouleds. — Chelifs. — Expedition. — Battle. — 
Horrible Punishment of a Prisoner. 

The Arabs broke up the camp (29th August), and, 
after six hours' march, stopped on the borders of 
the Ouet-Mina.* The Mina, a river very much 
banked up, and with a rapid current, takes its rise 
to the east of Tekedemta, and empties itself, at six 
leagues from the coast, into the ChelifF, the most 
considerable river in the country. The ChelifF, 
which rises in the mountains, to the south of Mili- 
ana, runs from east to west, and flows into the sea, 
near Cape Ivi, between Cape Tenez and the Gulf 
of Arzew. 

Ben-Faka chose an eminence for the position of 
the camp, connected with the mountain, at the 
foot of which spreads the western side of the plain 
of Miliana. This site was as beautiful and as pic- 
turesque as the one we had just quitted. At a 
short distance from our tent, a fall of a considerable 
body of water formed a cascade, with delightful 

* Ouet, an Arab word, which signifies rivulet. 



86 



CHAPTER IX. 



effect.* The waters hurried to the plain, where 
they were soon lost. If a provident and competent 
hand had collected them at the foot of the hill, in a 
large basin, and had led them from this reservoir 
through the plain, by trenches, traversing in all 
directions the uncultivated lands, green meadows 
would quickly have replaced these arid fields, now 
covered with parasitical plants ; and the oxen, cows, 
and horses of the Arabs would soon have found 
other nourishment than brambles and grass, parched 
by the sun. Besides the hay they might collect 
in the plain of Ouet-Mina, a large quantity of 
wheat and barley might also be obtained. The 
Arabs do not till their lands, and their ploughs do 
not turn up the ground like ours ; they never dis- 
turb more than one or two inches from the surface, 
and, nevertheless, I have seen a root of wheat which 
had seven or eight stems. 

This province is but little wooded ; but the moun- 
tains, which form as it were the boundaries of it, 
are covered with holm-oaks, and masticf trees. 

Abd-el-Kader laid a double impost upon the 
tribes around. This severity on the part of the 
Sultan arose from the Arabs of the district having 
well received Ibrahim, Bey of Mousthaganem. 

* We still see the ruins of a wall, which served to retain the 
waters and form a fall. A few irrigating canals, dug by the 
hand of man, lead the waters from this basin. Are we to 
attribute this construction to the Romans, Moors, or Spaniards? 

f The mastic tree does not often exceed the size and form of 
a shrub. But in the mountains of Tekedemta I have seen 
them the size of trees. It is excellent firewood, and the seed 
produces a good deal of oil. 



LEVYING THE IMPOSTS. 



87 



Every day horses, sheep, oxen, which the horse- 
men had carried off, were brought into the camp. 
They passed whole days in Abd-el-Kader's tent, 
counting the money they had pillaged ; which,, 
however, does not mean that immense treasures 
had arrived, to supply the coffers of the Sultan, 
but that the Arabs, very mistrustful and avaricious, 
count a sum of money ten or fifteen times in suc- 
cession. The firsf secretary, whom, from his office, 
I suppose to be more enlightened than the other 
Arabs, often came to our tent, where, squatted 
behind some bales, often entirely concealed by his 
haick, he passed whole hours in counting and re- 
counting his money. However, in spite of these 
severe measures — in spite of the zeal and ardour 
which the Kaits employed in levying the impost, 
the tribes paid with great difficulty. Abd-el-Kader 
then sent his cavalry to their tents, who returned 
to the camp the same evening, loaded with booty 
of every description, dragging with them, in their 
train, horses, oxen, sheep, children, and women. 

On the news of the arrival of the prisoners, a 
great number of Arabs hastened to the camp. They 
came to see if, among this human cattle, exposed 
for auction, they might not find some fit for their 
^ service. After having cast a rapid glance over the 
slaves crouched upon the earth, if the purchaser 
perceived amongst them one whose appearance 
drew his attention fat the time, he made him rise, 
and examined him, as they examine an ox in our 
fairs. He passed in review his eyes, hands, legs, 
feet ; he made him open his mouth, and examined 



88 CHAPTER IX. 

all his teeth with the greatest attention. If it was 
a woman, he pressed her bosom, to ascertain if she 
had suckled. These unfortunate beings allowed 
themselves to be handled with perfect indifference, 
and, when the bargain was concluded, rose, and 
quietly followed their new master. 

Among the prisoners destined for sale, and whom 
they had placed in our tent, was a young female, 
of about fourteen years of age. S,he was beautiful ; 
her large black eyes were mild and caressing, her 
lips as red as coral ; and, although the comparison 
is somewhat used, I make use of it because I know 
none other more appropriate, her teeth resembled 
the pearls inlaid with skill in the handle of a ya- 
taghan ; her legs as slim as those of a race-horse ; 
her feet less than those of a Spanish lady ; all the 
lines of her form perfectly symmetrical. The figure 
displayed the ampleness round the hip; for the 
unfortunate girl, contrary to the custom of the 
women of her country, had fastened her white 
haick round her loins, by means of a girdle of red 
wool. She was sure to belong to some opulent 
master, for every thing about her proved her health, 
cleanliness, and regularity. Doubtless, and her 
beauty made it more probable, her first masters 
intended her to be the slave of some Bey or Emir ; % 
and her life, which was thus miserable at present, 
might at a future period become brilliant and 
fortunate. The poor girl was seated near me. She 
wept, lamented, and refused every description of 
nourishment. On seeing her so disconsolate, I 
could not restrain a feeling of pity. I bent towards 



YOUNG NEGRO FEMALE 



89 



her, and, in a tone I sought to make as soft as 
possible, said, " Do not give thus way to your 
affliction ; we cannot alter our fate." 

" No, we cannot alter our fate, but we may weep 
for the happiness we have lost." 

tC You are so young ! Have you lost all hope of 
happiness ?" 

" Yes ; but how does a Christian speak to a 
slave ?" 

" The Christian speaks to a slave as to the Sul- 
tan, because he is good and courageous. I dread 
not Abd-el-Kader ; and I seek to comfort the poor 
girl torn from her tribe, who weeps and laments. 
The Christian is as unfortunate as yourself — is he 
not a prisoner ?" 

"But the Christian will see his country again." 

" Who knows P w 

" Has not the Sultan said it ? — whilst the slave 
will go to her new masters. I was so happy in the 
tent whence the horsemen snatched me, during the 
time the men were guarding our herds on the 
mountain. I shall be beaten — forced to sleep with 
the horses; I shall eat no more couscoussou; I 
shall wear a torn and dirty haick. Is not the fate 
of the Christian better than mine?" And she wept 
bitterly. 

" The Christian has left in his country a father, 
who is old, and a dear sister. Do you think he is 
not afflicted at being far from those he loves? Do 
you think the Christian sheds no tears in the night, 
when the Arab sleeps ? But why show our grief 
p to our enemies ? Hope, poor child ; you are so 



90 



CHAPTER IX. 



young, they will have pity on you. Will you eat, 
if the Christian will share with you what he can 
procure ?" 
"Yes." 

I immediately proceeded to ransack Ben-Faka's 
sacks, and I obtained from them some bunches of 
grapes, which I carried to the sorrowful captive. 
She looked at me with kindness, thanked me with 
a sign, and covering her head with the corners of 
her haick, eat the fruit in concealment. 

Soon after, a chief of the Garabas* entered the 
tent. The Garabas had been welcome to the camp 
of the Sultan, for he had that morning presented to 
Abd-el-Kader the head of a French soldier whom 
he had surprised and slain in the fields, in the 
neighbourhood of Mousthaganem. He was rich ; 
he wished to buy some slaves. As soon as he 
perceived the young girl, a smile of satisfaction 
lighted up his features, and he ordered the slave 
to rise. 

She obeyed; and was then subjected to the 
most minute examination. No fault, no defect of 
formation was discovered. The Garabas turned to 
Ben-Faka, 

" Fifty houmous. 5 ' 

" I must have eighty boutjeous" (about 1,400 
francs). 

" She is not worth them." ~ 

" Have you ever seen as handsome a slave ? 
Open your mouth." 

* The tribe of the Garabas is between Oran and Arzew. 



SALE OF SLAVES. 



She obeyed. 

" See what beautiful teeth ! She has not lost 
one! Walk." 
The slave began to walk. 

a What hips ! Her step is firm and decided . 
Open your haick." 

The slave obeyed again. 

" Weep not ; or the chaou will silence you with 
his stick." 

The slave dried her tears. 
" Eighty boutjeous." 

" Sixty. She is not strong ; she will not be able 
to carry the manure from the stable." 

" In two years she will carry all the dung of 
the horses of the tent. Eighty boutjeous !" 

" Seventy." 

" Her hands are beautiful ! she has never worked. 
Eighty boutjeous. Decide quickly ; for the Sultan 
expects me." 

" Here they are." 

The Garabas ordered the slave to follow him. 
The poor girl went out, fixing upon me her eyes, 
bathed in tears. I saw them stop before the tent 
of the Sultan; the Garabas entered to demand the 
price of the head he had brought. A few moments 
after they left the camp. I followed them with my 
eyes as far as possible, until the trees and in- 
equalities of the road concealed the poor girl from 
my sight, when I returned sorrowful and pensive 
to my tent. On the 2d September the courier from 
Tlemcen to Oran brought several letters. Abd-el- 



92 



CHAPTER IX. 



Kader opened them, had them read to him, re- 
sealed them, and sent them to their destination. 

The severe measures employed against the neigh- 
bouring tribes had not entirely subjected them; 
they only awaited an opportunity to throw off his 
yoke. 

A maraboot, an uncle of Abd-el-Kader, having 
declared himself independent, and having refused 
to pay the tax, the Beni-Flitas and the Houled 
Cherifs, powerful, rich, and numerous tribes, who 
occupy a part of the fertile lands near the Guet- 
Mina and the surrounding mountains, placed them- 
selves under his authority, declared they would no 
longer recognise Abd-el-Kader as Sultan, and 
refused positively to obey him. 

The Sultan again sent some horsemen to his 
uncle to demand the tribute. The maraboot re- 
fused, and wrote to Abd-el-Kader, 

" You were nothing before the arrival of the 
French; you were nothing before the conclusion 
of the peace with the Christians. I was greater, 
more powerful, holier than you, Abd-el-Kader. 
Since the time you concluded a treaty of peace 
with the French, excited by ambition and the 
desire of rule, you have sought to usurp an au- 
thority which does not belong to you. It is to the 
Christians you owe your elevation and your power. 
When you found yourself sufficiently powerful 
you broke the peace with the French, and to-day 
you require us to recognise you as sultan. 

" I have always been greater, more powerful, 
holier than you. 



abd-el-kader\s uncle. 



93 



" I will never recognise you as sultan. 

" I will not pay the imposts the horsemen have 
come to demand in your name." 

This letter,* of which I only recollect the most 
striking passages, produced a mournful impression 
upon Abd-el-Kader. He knew a civil war would 
be the prelude to his ruin. He remained several 
days meditative and in deep dejection. The con- 
sternation was general throughout the camp. Every 
Arab looked forward with dread to the day on 
which he would be compelled to turn his hand 
against his brethren. A civil war would have the 
effect of exhausting their supplies to advantage of 
the enemy, and would assure the approaching rule 
of the French. 

Thus Abd-el-Kader sent courier upon courier to 
his uncle to induce him to submit, but the mara- 
boot was deaf to all his propositions of accommo- 
dation, and replied, 

" Abd-el-Kader, I have always been greater, 
more powerful, and holier than you. 

" I will never recognise you as sultan. 

" Send not your horsemen ; I will pay no im- 
post." 

During this negociation, Abd-el-Kader convoked 
all the tribes along the borders of the Ouet-Mina 
and the ChelifF. The Arabs would not take up 
arms against their neighbours. Scarcely a hundred 
horsemen answered the call, and when they had 
passed a day in the camp, they almost all took to 

* A coffee maker of the camp, who spoke French, told me 
he contents of the letter. 



94 



CHAPTER IX. 



flight; those that remained were placed in the 
centre of the camp and carefully watched. 

The defection began already to gain ground 
among the regular troops of the Sultan. A deep 
discouragement, a sorrowful disquietude, reigned in 
every tent. Several tribes, when threatened by the 
horsemen of Abd-el-Kader, replied, that they knew 
the road to Mousthaganem, and if they attempted 
to disturb them, would implore the assistance of 
the French. 

Abd-el-Kader, enraged, wished to stifle without 
delay this germ of revolt. He caused the principal 
chiefs to be seized. Four of them remained in the 
camp in irons, four others, with chains round 
their necks, bound two and two, were conducted 
to Mascara, and thrown into the prisons of that 
city. 

The Sultan was still undecided. On the 8th 
September, the horsemen brought nine Jews to the 
camp, whom they had carried off from the neigh- 
bourhood of Mousthaganem. They also brought 
the heads of three Turks they had slain. 

These Jews had been cruelly ill-treated by the 
Arabs. They were chained to each other by the 
neck; their feet were bloody, and torn by the stones 
and briars along the way ; their bodies were covered 
with wounds. Being conducted before Abd-el- 
Kader, in order to escape death, they had recourse 
to a falsehood (if to deceive an enemy to save 
one's life can be called a falsehood) ; they replied to 
the Sultan, that when the French had made them- 
selves masters of Mousthaganem they had fled 



JEWS SENT TO MASCARA. 



95 



from the city, carrying with them their families and 
property to Mascara. 

" But the French/' continued they, " compelled 
us to return to Mousthaganem ; and we were en- 
deavouring to regain Mascara when the horsemen 
seized us." 

" Send for your wives, children, and property," 
replied the Sultan, " and return to Mascara. If 
you obey, no evil shall befall you ; if you do not 
obey, the chaous will add your heads to those of 
the Turks." 

" Abd-el-Kader is a great, holy, and powerful 
Sultan ; we will go to Mascara with our wives, 
our children, and our property." 

For two days (8th and 9th September,) the heads 
of the three Turks, and that of the French soldier 
which Garabas had brought, remained exposed be- 
fore the tent of the Sultan. The third day the 
children picked them up, and amused themselves 
in rolling them round the camp. At last the 
Arabs threw them out of the enclosure, and the 
birds of prey pounced upon the bloody and in- 
fected remains. 

On the morning of the 10th, Abd-el-Kader 
began his march, with all his troops and his piece 
of artillery, and proceeded to attack the Beni- 
Flitas and the Houled Cherifs. He only left one 
man for each tent to guard the camp. 

The insurgent tribes had been expecting an 
attack for some time. They had sent off their 
wives, children, and herds to the mountains. 

The Sultan found them united, and ready for 



96 



CHAPTER IX. 



battle, upon an elevated mountain which borders 
the plain of Miliana, at the maraboot nearest to 
the Ouet-Mina and Ouet-Cheliff. 

The battle lasted all day. We heard seven or 
eight cannon shots. They loaded the piece with 
stones for want of balls. 

On the evening Abd-el-Kader returned to his 
camp, he had lost twelve men, and brought back 
eight wounded. I have never been able to obtain 
positive information respecting- the issue of the 
battle, but the consternation of the troops, and the 
sadness of the Sultan, sufficiently instructed me 
that he had not gained a victory. 

The horsemen brought with them five heads. 
They drove before them the women and children 
who had not had time to take refuge in the moun- 
tains. These unfortunate beings were conducted to 
Mascara, and thrown into the prisons of that city. 

Only one of the enemy had fallen alive into 
their hands. Scarcely had Abd-el-Kader dis- 
mounted, when they led the prisoner into his tent. 

" You have been taken among the rebels ?" 

« Yes." 

" What have you to say to justify yourself. 
" They have compelled me to fight against you?" 
" You should have escaped, and then joined 
our camp." 
" But"— 
" Enough." 

Abd-el-Kader raised his hand ; the unhappy man 
was condemned to death. The chaous dragged 
him from the tent. 



HORRIBLE PUNISHMENT OF A PRISONER. 



97 



One of the chaous had lost his son in the con- 
test ; he had seen his head fixed to the saddlebow 
of one of the Beni-Flitas. With loud shouts, and 
tears in his eyes, he entreated the favour from the 
other chaous of being allowed to execute the 
prisoner alone. 

The chaous, at last, yielded to his wishes. He 
then threw himself upon the Beni-Flitas and cut 
off his hands and feet. The children, at this hor- 
rible sight, filled the air with their shouts of joy. 
The unfortunate man rolled in the dust, calling 
upon his executioners, with heart-rending cries, to 
end his life. But the father continued his ven- 
geance for the death of his son ; he listened neither 
to the prayers nor groans of the dying man : the 
sight of the blood which reddened the earth, the 
hideous contortions of the tortured man, the shrill 
exclamations he uttered from pain and rage, afford- 
ed him a horrible delight. At length, when the 
Beni-Flitas, from the loss of blood, remained as 
if he had fainted, the chaous passed a cord round 
his loins, and dragged him, thus mutilated, a few 
paces from the boundaries of the camp. The chil- 
dren collected branches of trees and some brambles, 
and set fire to them ; the chaous then cast the Beni- 
Flitas, still breathing, upon the funeral pile ! I 
heard, for a long time, groans and piercing cries. 
The night had come on. The flame from the pile 
spread a dull and sinister light to the very centre 
of the camp. The tents cast long shadows. More 
than one horseman, seated at his horse's feet, 
groaned over the events of the day. All around 

F 



98 



CHAPTER IX. 



me breathed sorrow and desolation. The flame 
shone some time longer. The Beni-Flitas struggled 
with death ; his groans became less frequent ; they 
rose, from time to time, like a mournful voice in 
the midst of night and darkness. 

" Oh," cried I, covering my head with my haick, 
" when will the day come when I shall no longer be 
a spectator of these barbarous and bloody scenes, 
which occur in the middle of this camp, at a few 
leagues from the stations occupied by the soldiers 
of our noble and generous nation !" 



CHAPTER X. 



Misery. — A Bath. — The Maraboot of the Eour Towers. — De- 
serted Country. — New Encampment. — Departure. — Moun- 
tains. — Arrival at Tekedemta. — Abd-el-Eader wishes to 
build this Town. — Letters of the Arab Prisoners carried 
to Marseillesby General Bugeaud. — Kindness. — Description 

OF THE EULNS OF TEKEDEMTA. — SULTAN S HaT. — CONVERSATION 

with Abd-el-Eader. — His Projects.— Tumult in the Camp. 

Some days after my arrival in the camp of Abd- 
el-Kader, I was covered with lice. The Arabs are 
infected by these vermin; the Sultan himself, in 
the midst of the most serious conversation, amuses 
himself in catching these animals on his haick, in 
rolling them gravely between his fingers, and 
throwing them on the carpet. I passed part of the 
day in company with Meurice 3 crouched in the 
sun, chasing these little insects. Fortunately, they 
did not take possession of either the hair of our 
heads or our beards ; but they propagated by 
thousands upon every article of our dress. They 
are of a white colour and very large, and have a 
black streak on the back, which swells in pro- 
portion to the quantity of blood they have sucked 
from their unfortunate victims. They deposited 
their eggs in the seams of our trousers, which had 
a great resemblance to the lace which decorates 
the pantaloons of our elegants. The Arabs are so 



100 



CHAPTER X. 



accustomed to them, that they take no pains to rid 
themselves of them ; and when they observed Meu- 
rice and me in chase of these vermin, they attacked 
us with insults and raillery. 

One day we asked Abd-el-Kacler's permission to 
bathe in the Ouet-Mina ; we wished to rid ourselves 
of them in the water, and also to cleanse our bodies 
of the dust which covered them. The Sultan, 
granted our request, and sent one of his negroes 
with us to protect us from the bad treatment of the 
Arabs. It is easy to imagine the pleasure and 
satisfaction we experienced, when, having entered 
the river, we felt our fatigued and heated bodies 
washed by the fresh and clear water. Two days 
afterwards the dust and the vermin had returned. 
We slept on the ground, the nights were cold, and 
when we pressed against each other to warm our 
benumbed limbs, they made themselves felt as soon 
as the warmth returned, and the blood began to 
circulate. They were like pins in every part of 
our bodies. We suffered dreadfully, and quickly 
desired the cold we had sought to guard against. 

On the 11th Sept., the day after the battle, at 
sunrise, we broke up the camp, and directed our 
course to the south-east. We proceeded from day- 
break until three o* clock in the afternoon, by fright- 
ful roads, over mountains covered with mastic, ash, 
juniper trees, and holm oaks. 

Ben-Faka pitched our camp upon an eminence ; 
the spot was beautiful. We saw the traces of the 
stay of the Beni-Flitas, who had left this neigh- 
bourhood to join the uncle of Abd-el-Kader. The 



NEW ENCAMPMENT. 101 

ground on which our tent was placed was a stubble, 
near to which flowed a tainted brook, which, how- 
ever, preserved some degree of coolness around the 
eminence. 

As soon as the gunners had fired the usual three 
shots, the horsemen, without giving their horses 
time to breathe, scattered themselves over the sur- 
rounding country, and hastened to discover and 
pillage the silos of the Beni-Flitas. They were 
not long before they returned, loaded with barley, 
wheat, and straw ; but neither men, women, nor 
children, brought that night roast mutton or cous- 
coussou. The country is a desert, although it ap- 
pears very favourable for the cultivation of wheat 
and barley. I am convinced that, with a little 
pains and labour, they might obtain abundant har- 
vests. It is entirely free from trees. 

^Yhen the horsemen had beaten the country on 
all sides, and were assured that the inhabitants had 
abandoned it, and had taken refuge with the rebel 
marabout in the fastnesses of the mountains ; when 
Abd-el-Kader saw that nothing could be accom- 
plished, and that he ran the risk of falling short of 
provisions, he determined to change the position of 
his camp. We journeyed about for some time, 
pitching and taking down our tents, without dis- 
covering an inhabited spot. 

At last, on the 17th September, after an eight 
hours' march towards the south, we reached an inha- 
bited district. Some few tribes brought horses and 
money to the Sultan, but these payments of taxes 
were rare, and of trifling amount. An Arab arrived 



102 



CHAPTER X. 



from Mascara with the following intelligence:— 
" General Letang has left Oran ; the Garabas have 
taken many oxen and sheep from trie Douairs." 

The Arabs were greatly rejoiced at the check 
given the Douairs, and the horsemen fired, while 
galloping, many gun shots in honour of the vic- 
torious Garabas. 

On the 19th September we struck our tent and 
set out. After about five hours* march, Ben-Faka 
made the troops halt upon the side of a mountain, 
in a fertile and well-cultivated spot. The camp 
was overlooked by a marabout (house of a holy 
man), the four angles of which were each flanked 
by a turret. 

This country is populous. The fields are covered 
with wheat and barley crops. From the hill on 
which the marabout is built, they see the tents of 
the tribes, both on the plain and on the sides of 
the mountains. 

Abd-el-Kader had for a long time entertained 
the project of rebuilding an ancient city named 
Tekedemta. To procure the means, and to obtain 
from the surrounding tribes provisions and assist- 
ance of every description during the reconstruction, 
he remitted them the payment of the impost, and 
expressed his desire to the Kait of receiving later, 
at Tekedemta, the supplies they intended bringing 
to the camp. 

The next day, 20th September, we left the mara- 
bout with the four turrets, and after six hours' march 
arrived in the neighbourhood of Tekedemta. With- 
out resting himself, while the troops were preparing 



ARRIVAL AT TEKEDEMTA. 



103 



the next encampment, Abd-el-Kader changed his 
horse, and, accompanied by several marabouts, set 
off to visit the ruins of this city. 

The country in which we had just arrived is 
hilly and uncultivated, and there is no trace of its 
being inhabited by any of the tribes. The moun- 
tains are very lofty, and covered with mastic, ash, 
juniper, and oak trees. The number and size of 
these trees (it is the only spot where I have seen 
the mastic tree, every where else I have found it 
merely a shrub) evidently prove that the Arabs 
have not inhabited this part of the couutry for a 
long time ; for the spots where the tribes fix their 
residence are soon cleared of the trees which covered 
the ground before their arrival, and which the 
Arabs burn both for the purposes of cooking, and 
also by keeping up large fires, which the watchmen 
of the camps and tribes light during the night. 
These fires serve to protect them from the cold, 
and to keep off the wild beasts, which constantly 
prowl around their dwellings. They have, more- 
over, another practice, little adapted for preserving 
the forests. In order to open a passage in the 
mountains, they begin by setting fire to the under- 
wood, and then to all the branches of the trees 
which impede their progress ; the leaves and small 
branches being burnt, they then cut down the 
trunks. 

Thus the strength and beauty of the trees which 
cover the mountains is a certain proof of the long 
absence of the Arabs from that spot. 

The day of our encampment, many Moors ar- 



104 



CHAPTER X. 



rived from Mascara. They brought fifty asses, 
and carried baskets, mattocks, and every kind of 
instrument for digging the earth and building. 

Abd-el-Kader returned to the camp, and imme- 
diately sent all his muleteers, and a party of his 
negroes, to the ruins of Tekedemta, with orders to 
clear the spot occupied by the ancient Casbah. 

The next day he ordered a considerable number 
of his soldiers to set out to continue the clearing, 
and to construct a redoubt. 

As the workmen were not paid, ill-will showed 
itself on all sides ; the workmen and soldiers did 
not sro to their work without murmuring". Abd-el- 
Kader was obliged to be present at the continuation 
of the work. It was even necessary for him to 
fulfil the duty of overlooker. 

Whether from curiosity, or in obedience to Abd- 
el-Kader's orders, the Arabs of the neighbouring 
tribes brought to the camp grapes and quinces. 

On the 26th, a courier brought Abd-el-Kader 
letters from the Arabs made prisoners by General 
Bugeaud at the battle of Trara-Shika, and whom 
they had transported to France. The news they 
gave produced a lively sensation in the camp ; joy 
was painted on every countenance. 

The Sultan summoned me, and said, 

" I have received letters from my Arabs ; they 
are at Marseilles. The Christians treat them very 
well." 

" And why then do you treat us ill ? Why, 
when your subjects have only to rejoice at the 
good treatment of the French, do you leave us a 



WE VISIT THE RUINS OF TEKEDEMTA. 105 

prey to the greatest misery, and exposed to the 
insults and blows of the soldiers ? The distance 
from our friends renders us sufficiently unhappy. 
Why does a Sultan so powerful, so good, so holy 
as you, permit the bad treatment we suffer, under 
his very eyes ? Your authority, your power, of 
which you boast so much, are then merely vain 
words. The nights are cold on these mountains, 
and we sleep on the ground. I am certain the 
Arabs sleep at Marseilles wrapped in warm cover- 
ings of wool, upon a good mattrass, and we have 
not even a miserable carpet upon which to stretch 
ourselves during the night." 

Abd-el-Kader smiled kindly, summoned Ben- 
Faka, and ordered him to give us all we should 
ask, and to let us have a carpet to sleep on. On 
the morning of the 27th, I entreated the Sultan 
to grant Meurice and myself permission to visit 
the ruins of Tekedemta, and the works commenced 
by the troops. He immediately replied we might 
go without fear ; adding, that we should be accom- 
panied by one of his negroes. 

We set off, and, after an hour's walk, reached 
the ruins of Tekedemta. 

The ground was covered with stones, and with- 
out any vegetation. Some portion of the wall 
which formerly surrounded a fortress was still 
standing. It was about seven cubits in thickness 
at the base ; at a few feet from the ground it be- 
came narrower, and was not more than five cubits. 
Nine towers, of which the foundations are still 
visible, connected with the wall, but forming an 
f 2 



106 



CHAPTER X. 



exterior projection, defended the approach. The 
enclosure was twelve hundred cubits in length, and 
nine hundred cubits in breadth. 

We perceived, from the remains of the walls in 
the middle of the fortress, that the interior of the 
fort formerly enclosed several streets, into which 
opened houses and shops. 

At several hundred paces from the citadel, we 
discovered, upon an elevated spot, the traces of 
the ancient Casbah (dwellings of the chiefs of cities, 
Beys — these palaces are usually surrounded with 
fortifications). It was upon these foundations that 
Abcl-el-Kader intended to erect his new palace. 

The camp was situated at the foot of a little hill, 
near the ruins, and a short distance from the spring. 
The Ouet-Mina flows at about ten minutes' walk 
from the ruins, below the eminence. This position 
is governed on every side by high mountains, except 
on the west ; they reach the ruins on this side by 
a gentle acclivity. A road runs past it towards 
Mascara. 

After having walked over the ruins, we ap- 
proached the redoubt that Abd-el-Kader had caused 
to be erected. At two hundred paces to the east 
of the Casbah we perceived the Sultan, and near 
him his chief secretary, Ben-About, and Miloud 
Ben-Arrach, seated upon the earth which had 
been lately thrown up by the workmen, while dig- 
ging the trench. It was not easy to distinguish 
him from the workmen by his costume, his dress 
was so simple. 

He wore a large hat, plaited with the leaves of 



DESCRIPTION OF THE RUINS. 



107 



dwarf palm. The flaps attached to the body of 
the hat, by woollen bands, ornamented with tassels, 
must have been three feet in diameter. It was 
about a foot and a half high, and in form resembled 
a reversed funnel. 

I approached the Sultan, accompanied by Meu- 
rice. He saluted us gracefully, and with his ac- 
customed smile, and made us a sign to be seated. 

" To judge by the ruins," said I to Abcl-el- 
Kader, "the town which formerly stood in this 
place must have been extensive and flourishing." 

" Yes, it was very handsome, and very powerful P' 

" Does the date of its foundation rise to a distant 
period V 3 

" Tekedemta is a very ancient city."* 
• "Do you think we should find any stones with 
inscriptions ?" 

" You will not find any ; this has never been a 
Christian city.f 

" It is one of the most ancient cities founded by 
the Arabs. The Sultans, my ancestors, who had 
fixed their residence at Tekedemta, have since 
ruled from Tunis to Morocco." 

* I have said that Abd-el-Kader spoke a little French; but 
in our conversations he would never make use of any other 
language than Arabic. It was thus that I found out he knew Ita- 
lian : — One day, as I was talking to one of the coral fishers, he 
happened to pass, and overheard me, and turning to Ben-Faka, 
said, " The Christian is now speaking Italian.' 

f By this expression, 66 Tekedemta has never been a Chris- 
tian city/' Abd-el-Kader wished to say, that we should find no 
trace of the Roman domination among the ruins. According 
to him, the Christians are the authors of the Latin inscriptions 
at Old Arzew. 



108 



CHAPTER X. 



ff What is then your reason for disturbing these 
ruins, and forming from them the foundations of 
a new redoubt ?" 

" I wish to build up this city, and to make it 
greater and more flourishing than it has ever been 
under the rule of the Sultans, my ancestors. In 
the first place, I shall obtain a safe rampart against 
the attacks of the French ; and when I shall have 
collected the tribes, secured and. consolidated the 
magnificence of new Tekedemta, like a vulture I 
will pounce upon the Christians from this nest, so 
steep and difficult of approach ; I will drive them 
from Algiers, from Bona, from Oran, and from all 
the places of which they have obtained possession." 

ef It is folly in you to nourish this hope, and to 
entertain a project as ridiculous as difficult of exe- 
cution. You know not then all the power of France. 
Our Sultan has but to speak the word, and we 
would pass your plains, climb your mountains ; we 
would enclose you and yours in the deserts, where 
you would be burnt up by the sun. Go." 

" You are very insolent," exclaimed Ben-About, 
suddenly interrupting this bombastic address ; " you 
are in the power of the Sultan, and the chaous 
have not all remained in the camp." 

Abd-el-Kader smiled, and assumed an air of 
pity for me. 

" You have no need to call to my recollection 
that I am prisoner," replied I to Ben-About ; " the 
lice which devour my body would quickly recal it 
to mind, if I should forget it for a second ; but I 
also remember that Abd-el-Kader has told me, that 



CONVERSATION WITH ABD-EL-KADER. 109 



as long as I was in his power, I should not be 
exposed to any bad treatment. 

" The Sultan has given me his word ; he is 
great, good, and generous. Do not bridle up, Ben- 
. About ; what I am saying does not in any way 
concern you ; of all the Arabs, Abd-el-Kader alone 
is great, good, and generous. He has assured me 
no evil should befall me; and confident in his 
word, I fear nothing." 

Abd-el-Kader looked at me with a smile, and 
said, " The Christians are fools ; madmen : they 
wish to obtain possession of a country which is 
not theirs, and drive out the Arab, to whom it 
belongs. If the Christian was victorious, where, 
then, would the Arab go ? 

" Our plains, our silos, our fields, our flocks, our 
mountains, our tents, our horses, our wives, our 
camels would be yours. 

" And what would become of the country in 
which you were born ? Why leave it, and come 
where you have no business, where Mahomet has 
'placed his people? Does your Sultan know how 
to ride on horseback like Abd-el-Kader ? Is your 
Sultan as great, as holy as Abd-el-Kader ? 

" You are dogs ! you never pray to God ! 

" Still, if you were satisfied with the coasts of 
Africa ; if you restricted your occupation to Algiers, 
Oran, Bona, I might suffer you near me ; for the 
sea does not belong to me ; I have no vessels. But 
you wish the coasts, the plains, and the cities 
of the interior ; you desire our mountains also. 

M You are fools and madmen ; you will never 



110 



CHAPTER X. 



possess Arabia. The foot of our horse is lighter, 
and more certain than the foot of yours. You 
will die with disease in our mountains, and those 
whom sickness shall not carry off, my horsemen 
will send death with their bullets. 

" You see it is not us, but you, who are fools 
and madmen." 

I did not reply to this pompous address ; I rose, 
and cast a glance over the works. 

The labourers were digging a trench, enclosing a 
space of about forty square metres.* They cast 
the earth upon the spot on which the redoubt 
was to be erected, like we do when we raise small 
forts. This fortress was intended to lodge a garrison 
for the protection of travellers, and for the Arabs 
to retire to at night, to protect themselves from the 
hyenas and jackals. 

This redoubt is placed upon an inclined plane ; 
it is overlooked by the ruins of the ancient fortress, 
and by an eminence from which the whole of the 
interior can be seen ; so that the garrison could be 
compelled to evacuate it, even without cannon. 

After this rapid examination, we took leave of 
the Sultan, and proceeded, still accompanied by 
the negro, to walk over the ruins of the citadel. 

The negro could not conceive what pleasure we 
could have in walking over a ground covered with 
stones. He looked upon us as fools, as dogs, and the 
whole time of our exploring he never ceased grum- 
bling between his teeth, and overwhelming us with 
insults. 

* Metre, three feet three inches. 



TUMULT IN THE CAMP. 



Ill 



At sunset we returned to the camp. On our 
arrival we heard a great tumult, and in the midst 
of a thick cloud of dust we perceived a multitude 
.of Arabs, who seemed to be fighting among them- 
selves. Some threw themselves on the ground, 
others flung themselves upon them ; they all rolled 
on the ground, mutually striving to obtain the 
upper hand, accompanied by cries, insults, impre- 
cations, and vigorous blows, distributed right and 
left by the chaous upon the backs of the rioters. 

This commotion frightened us, and we hastened 
to our tent. When we reached it, we inquired the 
cause of the tumult. 

The chaous had measured and distributed the 
barley to the horsemen. The distribution being 
finished, there remained in the middle of the circle 
a few measures for which there appeared no claim- 
aints. The Arabs had immediately rushed upon 
it ; the trial was who should overthrow his neigh- 
bour, and obtain a few hanclfuls of grain. The 
chaous might strike about them as much as they 
pleased, the robbers were not to be turned from 
their purpose, and continued to struggle for the 
barley, with loud shouts and bursts of laughter. 

Until to-day, the distribution of the rations had 
always taken place outside of the camp. Since 
then, Abd-el-Kader has ordered it to be made 
before his tent, which however does not prevent a 
repetition of the same scene at every distribution. 
At this moment the Sultan entered the camp ; the 
chaous had great difficulty in opening a passage 
for him, through the midst of these plunderers. 



112 



CHAPTER X. 



Abcl-el-Kader, without enquiring the cause of the 
disturbance, proceeded to his tent, regarding the 
thieves with a look of indifference. 

I was seated, waiting our supper hour, when a 
marabout, cousin of Abd-el-Kader, precipitately 
entered our tent. I rose on seeing him, and dreaded, 
for a moment, from his terrified manner, that the 
Sultan, offended by my boldness, was about to 
inflict some punishment; but I was soon relieved 
from this apprehension. 

" The Sultan has sent me," said he to me. 
" He has charged me to ask you if you will remain 
with him, and embrace our religion." 

" No." 

" You will be as powerful as the Sultan if you 
remain with us." 

" I wish to return to the Christians." 

a You will* have wives, horses, arms, powder, 
much powder ; you will be as rich, as great, as 
powerful as the Sultan." 

" I will turn Mussulman if Abd-el-Kader will 
give me a ship, or vessel to command, I only 
accept it on this condition. I will go with the 
Italians to fish for coral on the coast of Cherchell, 
and will enrich the Sultan." 

At this reply, whether it was that he had com- 
prehended in what direction I should steer if my 
offers were accepted, or whether he desired to place 
me on an equality with the Sultan among the 
Arabs, the marabout retired without saying a word. 

I had often been solicited by the Arabs to re- 
main with them, but I never received official offers, 



THE SULTANS PROPOSAL. 



113 



like those made me on this occasion, from Abd-el- 
Kader. 

During our excursion to the ruins, the Arabs of 
the tribes situated half a day's march from Teke- 
clemta, had brought couscoussou and roast sheep. 

The men of Miliana had also brought pears, 
grapes, pomegranates, peaches, figs, and quinces. 
The prisoners had a share of all these provisions. 
Ben-Faka treated us sumptuously ; he gave us 
cakes of white bread, some fruit, and a leg of 
roast mutton. 

The cakes were supplied by the tribes. Abd-el- 
Kader had ordered them to bring some each day 
to the camp : they distributed them to the men 
employed in building and digging at Tekedemta. 
That was the only pay the Sultan's workmen re- 
ceived. When an Arab was going to work at the 
redoubt, he came to demand his ration of biscuit 
and white bread, saying, " I am going to work." 

I had finished my excellent repast, when Ben- 
Faka, who came out of Abd-el-Kader's tent, said 
to me, " The Sultan wishes to speak to you." 

I immediately proceeded to the tent of Abd-el- 
Kader, joyful and full of hope, without, however, 
knowing the subject which could lead to a conver- 
sation at that hour. 



CHAPTER XI. 



Discussion with Abd-el-Kader on the subject of Exchange of 
Prisoners. — Letter to General Eapatel. — Letter to my 
Family. — Frightful Night. — New Excursion to the Kuins 
of Tekedemta. — Works.— Abd-el-Kader's Powder Magazine. 
—The New Redoubts. — The Medal. — Arab Jumfers in the 
Camp. — Arab Singers. — Hymns. — The Arabs and Abd-el-Ka- 
der before civilization. — new tekedemta. — game. — march. 
— Garrison. — Eight Pieces of Cannon. 

As soon as Abd-el-Kader perceived me, he made 
me a sign to be seated. 

" How are you ?" (The Sultan never failed to 
inquire after my health.) 

" Pretty well. The lice torment me ; but I have 
a carpet at night, and I have dined well to-day." 

" Are you treated well ?" 

" Not too well." 

" Have you need of any thing ?" 
" To tell the truth, I am in want of every thing ; 
but I have every thing you can give me." 
" I wish you to return to Algiers." 
" I do not desire any thing better." 
" I wish to exchange you." 

" You asked me just now if I was in want of 
anything; you have guessed what I most wished." 
« What ?" 

" Eh, parbleu ! my liberty." 

" You must write to the General. Ask him if 



DISCUSSION WITH ABD-EL-KA.DER. 115 



he will give, in exchange for you, three of the 
Arabs, prisoners at Marseilles, whom I shall point 
out." 

The proposition of Abd-el-Kader caused me 
lively surprise. He did not mention the other 
prisoners, but merely spoke of my deliverance. 

" If you do not include my companions in 
misfortune in the exchange, I will not write. How 
could you, — so great, so good, so generous, — how 
could you think I should ever consent to treat for 
my own exchange, if you did not, at the same 
time, include my companions in slavery ?" 

" Abd-el-Kader, these prisoners fell into your 
power before I did ; I ought not to be freed before 
them ; demand from the General a proper ransom 
for all the prisoners ; then I will write." 

" Later on, I shall see." 

" But why do you wish to keep them ?" 

" I do not wish so keep them ; when you reach 
Algiers you can speak of their exchange, and the 
matter will be soon concluded." 

" I will not write for myself alone. Specify a 
ransom for Meurice, the four Italians, the man and 
the woman who are at Droma, and I will write, 
and will use all my endeavours with the General, 
to make him agree to whatever you may ask." 

Abd-el-Kader consulted his secretaries and the 
marabouts who surrounded him, and replied, 

" Write to the General, that I demand twenty 
Arab prisoners for Meurice ; the four Italians and 
yourself. As for the four women, and the man who 
are at Droma, they are too far off ; the long journey 



116 CHAPTER XI. 

would fatigue the women. As soon as you are 
exchanged, I will have them conducted to Oran." 

" It will cost you no more to include these 
unhappy beings now. Do you think the hope of 
liberty, and the desire of seeing one's country, 
gives no strength ? What are the fatigues of a 
journey, in comparison to the sufferings and miseries 
of captivity?" 

" Very well ; mention the man ; but I forbid you 
to speak a word with regard to the women ; — write." 

"Since you are determined to keep the women, 
it is useless to speak of the man (Mons. Lau- 
ternier) ; he will never consent to be separated 
from his wife and daughter. He would prefer 
slavery with them, to liberty, while they mourned 
their captivity in the prisons at Droma. I will 
speak no more of him." 

I immediately wrote to the Lieutenant-General 
Baron Rapatel, commander of the troops at Algiers, 
and conveyed to him. Abd-el-Kader's proposition. 

When my letter was finished, Abd-ei-Kader 
asked if I wished to write to my family. As I 
hesitated, the Sultan, who perceived it, said, u Fear 
^nothing; write what you please; no one here will 
read your letter." He then gave me wax to seal it, 
and I wrote the second letter. 

"You see," said the Sultan to me, "I give him 
your letters ; they will go off immediately to 
Algiers," 

I retired, very well satisfied with the good dis- 
position of Abd-el-Kader, and returned to our tent, 
very much rejoiced at what I had obtained. 



LETTER TO GENERAL RAPATEL. 117 



Meurice, who awaited my return with impatience, 
assailed me with numberless questions. I told 
him of Abd-el-Kader's resolution, and the letter I 
had written to General Rapatel. 

Tt would be impossible to describe his joy and 
thankfulness ; he laughed, he wept, thanked me. 
His happiness affected me ; we promised each other 
mutual assistance, both in good and bad fortune- 
We talked of our country, of our friends, of liberty, 
of hope ; we looked far into futurity ; we saw our 
deliverance, our return to Algiers, the oblivion of 
all our sufferings. Full of these delightful images, 
we laid ourselves down to sleep. I looked for our 
carpet ; it had been taken away ; I wished to go 
and mention the circumstance to Abd-el-Kader, 
but he was at prayers ; I was compelled to content 
myself with allowing part of my disappointment 
and ill-humour to evaporate in an energetic excla- 
mation. I then threw myself on the ground, and 
" sought for sleep to dissipate my indignation. But 
how to get to sleep ? — The cold was excessive, and 
a tremendous tempest burst forth in the middle of 
the night ; the next morning we were wet to the 
skin. 

On the 29th, Abd-el-Kader sent Miloud-Ben- 
Arrach, and his cavalry, on an expedition of obser- 
vation, in the direction of Mousthaganem. He 
granted us permission to return to the ruins of 
Tekedemta, and to pursue our researches. A part of 
the labourers were occupied in transporting stones 
with the mules ftom the camp, and in collecting 
the materials for the Casbah of Abd-el-Kader; 



i 



118 



CHAPTER XI. 



others carried moistened earth, resembling cement, 
to unite the stones ; others worked at the redoubt. 

The tribes of the neighbourhood had charge of 
the waggons, and we saw them arrive every clay, 
loaded with provisions, leading oxen dragging 
pieces of wood. There was no lime to be found 
except at half a day's journey ; Abd-el-Kader sent 
some Moors to the spot to prepare it. 

I remarked ten soldiers occupied in clearing an 
ancient cistern, about one hundred and fifty paces 
to the east of the casbah. I have subsequently 
learnt that Abd-el-Kader had placed there iron, 
lead, powder, saltpetre, and sulphur. It is his grand 
magazine for the necessaries of war. To escape all 
suspicion he has had the entrance built up, and 
erected a kind of hut before it in the form of a 
guard -house. 

The implements of the Arabs are very bad, with 
the exception of a few shovels and pickaxes, which 
they have stolen from us. 

Abd-el-Kader was in the midst of his labourers, 
who were working at the redoubt. As soon as he 
perceived me, he asked me what I thought of the 
fortifications he was erecting. 

I replied to him that they were very extensive 
and well directed; that it was easy to perceive he 
had examined our fortresses during the peace. 

The Sultan appeared very well satisfied with my 
answer. He would have been much less so if I 
had told him all I thought. 

The ditches were not dug of an equal depth 
throughout ; the breadth varied considerably, and 



THE NEW REDOUBT. 



119 



the sides presented inequalities. The redoubt was 
placed upon an inclined plane, and they had not 
contrived any opening for the escape of the water. 
A few branches of the mastic tree and laurel-rose, 
planted horizontally, were the only supports which 
served to connect and bind the earth together. The 
winter is very severe in the mountains, and it is 
more than probable that, as a consequence of the 
long rains, the waters have dragged down the earth, 
thus so badly supported, into the trenches, and 
that the redoubt of the Sultan presents at this 
moment the appearance of a miserable heap of 
mud. 

One of the Italians (these three unfortunate men 
also worked at the new constructions,) left the 
group of labourers, and presented me with an Arab 
medal, which he had found while digging the 
ground. I showed it to Abd-el-Kader, 

" Is this an Arabian coin ?" 

" Yes." 

"Is it very old?" 
" It is very ancient." 

"Why do you compel the Italians to work P" 

" Why ? are they not accustomed to work, and 
must they not gain their food 1" 

" But they are fishermen, and not labourers ; why 
treat them so harshly ? They have done you no ill ; 
you are not at war with their nation ; why retain 
them prisoners ? In this instance your conduct 
does not agree with your great reputation for holi- 
ness and goodness." 

" I am at war with every power ; I have no ports ; 



120 



CHAPTER XI. 



their friendship is useless to me. Besides, is not 
the army of your Sultan filled with soldiers who 
speak a language different from your own ? 

" These soldiers are deserters. They have left 
their country, they have come to serve under our 
flag of their own accord, and have not been sent by 
their sultan ; if they returned to their own country 
they would be shot. Thus you are wrong in de- 
claring war against every power." 

" I am the strongest and greatest of sultans, and 
fear not the enmity of the others. Take back your 
medal." 

I left the redoubt, and descended with Meurice 
to the banks of the Ouet-Mina. 

On entering the camp, we perceived a numerous 
assembly. As we were never safe among the 
Arabs, we hastened to gain our tent ; when once in 
safety, we inquired the cause of the crowd. At last 
we saw haicks floating in the air, then men perched 
one upon another's backs. 

They were mountebanks, who were jumping 
before the troops of the camp. 

I had been present at Toulon, at the Arab exer- 
cises, which were to be seen last year at Paris. I 
explained to Meurice their tricks,, but we could not 
distinguish their evolutions. 

The next day, when the Sultan returned from 
the works, the tumblers gave a second exhibition. 
This day we saw them well. They formed the 
human pyramid; they flung themselves in a somer- 
set over the heads of men holding naked swords 
in their hands; they performed the same tricks we 



ARAB SINGERS. 



121 



had seen their countrymen execute in the principal 
theatres of France. Meurice greatly admired their 
boldness, their strength, their suppleness, and their 
agility ; but I did not think them equal to the 
Bedouins I had seen at Toulon. 

The Arabs watched their motions with much 
interest and attention. When the exercises were 
finished, one of the tumblers went round the circle, 
and although this scared many away, he neverthe- 
less collected a number of small pieces of coin. 

Other amusements succeeded. 

Every evening an Arab squatted before Abd-el- 
Kader's tent, and sang for whole hours together. 
The soldiers of the camp surrounded him, and 
lent an attentive ear to the monotonous and trivial 
melody. I have not been able completely to seize 
the words ; but, from a few phrases I caught, I 
thought I could recognise religious or patriotic 
hymns. They have the cadence and the rhyme of 
poetry. The ideas which follow frequently re- 
turned. 

" The Sultan is great, and Mahomet is greater. 
" The Sultan is great ; he is good, generous, he 
is holy. 

" The marabouts of Mecca are very great and 
very holy. 

" The Sultan has beautiful horses. 

" The Sultan has many horses ; and they are 
all excellent. 

" The Sultan has immense treasures, and much 
powder. 

G 



122 CHAPTER XI. 



" The Arabs have fertile plains. 

ei They have mountains covered with forests, 
from whence flow many rivers. 

" We have beautiful women. 

" Our horses are light, and no other animal runs 
so swiftly as they. 

" Our camels are strong. 

ee We have large droves of oxen and sheep. 

" Our guns are good. 

" We have powder ; 

" Much powder. 

" Pay vows, that the Christians may die. 
" Much powder ! " 

A marabout, a friend of Ben-Faka, came to our 
tent every evening, and sung thus for whole hours. 
His voice was so harsh and shrill, and the burden 
of his song so monotonous, that it was one of our 
greatest annoyances to have our ears a prey, for a 
part of the night, to this stunning psalmody. 

Meurice had an excellent voice. He sometimes 
sung before the Arabs, at one time a romance of 
Bruguiere, at another time a song of Beranger, but 
his hearers were little sensible to his melody ; they 
gave the preference by far to their guttural and 
drawling notes, the rude and coarse phrases of 
their songs. 

This aversion for every thing belonging to 
Europeans, under every form, does not spring 
solely from the horror which our religious faith 
causes them, but also from that instinct which 
makes the uncivilized and barbarous man shrink 
from all modifications, from all changes which the 



ARABS BEFORE CIVILIZATION. 



123 



contact with a more civilized nation would neces- 
sarily cause in his customs, manners, and habits of 
life. Thus, although possessed of prodigious 
activity and great vigour, we nevertheless find in 
the Arabs, as in all other barbarous nations, an 
indolence, a sloth, an apathy, which nothing can 
disturb. The Arab will make a long journey on 
horseback during an expedition, he will endure the 
greatest privations without murmuring, and with- 
out expressing the least regret, the least wish. He 
will fight like a lion, provided he attacks. He will 
endure cold, heat, hunger, rain, watchings, without 
yielding ; but when, on his return to his tribe, he 
has unsaddled his horse, and hung up his gun, his 
pistols, and yataghan to the posts of his tent, he 
will remain for days crouched in the sun, without 
disquieting himself about the morrow, in smoking, 
as if absorbed in very grave deliberations. A 
horse, a gun, powder, a haick, some acorn flour, 
and some barley, that is all that an Arab requires 
to make his life happy. Let civilization come, 
bringing in its train wealth, religion, elegance, daily 
toil, art in all its beautiful forms, the desire of 
improvement — the Arab would stand a moment 
before the door of his tent, struck by the glorious 
spectacle which presented itself before his eyes ; 
but traditions have been silent for ages, they have 
not reclined on the carpet where he slept when a 
child, they have not related to him the history of 
ancient times, they have not told him of Sultans 
who were great conquerors, of the pomp and 
splendour of their imperial cities. A single word 



124 



CHAPTER XI. 



has rung on his ear — Mahomet ! The prophet has 
commanded him to hate the Christians. 

He will struggle to repel them. If he fails in this 
undertaking, he will retire like a wild beast to the 
fastnesses of the mountains, or conceal his wild 
independence in the inaccessible plains of the 
desert. 

And we must not take as an exception the per- 
sonal valour of Abd-el-Kader, and the intentions 
and projects of this chief. The sultan is not a 
reformer; he does not seek to reform the institu- 
tions of the prophet, nor to change the manners of 
the Arabs. If he opposes a long resistance to the 
French, it is not for the purpose of forming a 
wandering and undisciplined people to war, nor of 
sowing, after the victory he each day predicts, the 
seeds of improvement and civilization in this rich 
and fertile country. Abd-el-Kader is ambitious. 
He desires to reign at any price. Without the 
French colonization, he would have been all his life 
merely a simple marabout. He owes his elevation 
to the miseries of his country. These lend him the 
qualities of a superior man. In his camp, Abd-el- 
Kader distinguishes himself from the other Arabs 
by his kindness, his self-confidence, his boldness, 
and his address; but place this hero among us, 
and you will find him ignorant, despotic, and im- 
provident. 

At this moment the Sultan is falling back before 
the French invasion. He is rebuilding the town 
of Tekedemta, in order to transport to his new city 
he inhabitants of Mascara. He resembles the tiger 



GAME. 



125 



pursued across the plain by expert huntsmen, which 
seeks a den in the mountains to escape the balls 
of his assailants. 

Tekedemta is a bad district ; the temperature 
which reigns in these mountains is very cold. The 
2d October, it has frozen in our tents. 

At six hours' march from the ruins, towards the 
south, we find well cultivated and thickly inhabited 
plains. 

The tribes bring every day to Tekedemta a con- 
siderable quantity of barley and grain. 

There was no grass for the camels at Tekedemta, 
or in the neighbourhood. Abd-el-Kader sent them 
to the plains in the south, where they found a 
proper and abundant pasture. 

If the French ever push an expedition as far as 
Tekedemta, they must never forget, if they take 
camels, to carry with them food for their support, 
otherwise they would soon die of hunger in these 
defiles. 

Game abounds in these mountains. At every 
step w 7 e start hares, rabbits, partridges, thrushes, 
blackbirds, red partridges (on the backs of which 
the plumage is blue), wild pigeons, and doves. 
The wild boars are numerous in marshy places. 
The soldiers, without Abd-ei-Kader's knowledge, 
began to eat the game. The market which has been 
established at Tekedemta is full of it. 

The stream of the Ouet-Mina is abundantly sup- 
plied with fish. We found in this river, and in all 
those which water this district, an immense number 
of river tortoises. They live in the mud, send forth 



126 



CHAPTER XI. 



a fetid odour, and have a detestable taste ; whereas 
the land tortoises, which are almost as numerous, 
when well cooked, form a delicious dish. The 
soldiers began fishing for their support. Abd-el- 
Kader continued the labours of the redoubt with 
great ardour and activity. Fifty workmen, car- 
penters and masons, were employed at the con- 
struction. To celebrate the inauguration of the new 
Tekedemta, the Sultan had the piece of cannon 
conveyed to the redoubt. They loaded it with 
stones, and fired three shots, so badly directed, that 
the stones fell in the camp, and nearly killed both 
men and horses. 

At each shot the marabouts and workmen ex- 
claimed, " Great Sultan !" 

Abd-el-Kader has since sent from Mascara to 
the redoubt of Tekedemta, seven cannons, six 
and eight pounders. They are old Spanish pieces, 
one worse than the other, mounted upon bad car- 
riages, of Arabian make, and moved upon small 
wheels of solid wood. These cannon have been 
spiked, and their touch-holes are about a dozen 
lines in circumference. 

Before leaving Tekedemta, where I have never 
returned, I wish to add a few facts of which I have 
not been witness, but of which I can guarantee the 
correctness, as I derive them from good authority. 
Fifteen or twenty families of Mascara have, by the 
Sultan's orders, transported themselves to Teke- 
demta. The population of Mascara will determine 
with great regret and reluctance, upon emigrating 
to a cold, unhealthy country, scantily supplied 



NEW TEKEDEMTA. 



127 



with provisions, which have to be brought on the 
backs of mules from a day's march to the south. 
The eatables brought to market are very dear. 

Abd-el-Kader has established a garrison of a 
hundred men in the redoubt. They are changed 
every month, and each detachment, on going to 
occupy this post, carries a supply of biscuit and 
barley for the month. 

The ruins of Tekedemta cover a considerable 
space. They show the past splendour of this an- 
cient city; but the times in which this city flourished 
are long gone by, for the descendants of the men 
who dug the foundations and raised the walls 
cannot tell the prisoner or traveller the names of 
the Sultans who established their residence in these 
mountains. 

Abd-el-Kader is stirring up these remains in 
hopes of blowing into life the embers of a great 
nation. He wishes to repeople this vast solitude, 
and to lay the foundations of an imperial city, 
from whence he will rule the whole of the pro- 
vince of Algiers. The Sultan Abd-el-Kader is 
cunning, crafty, and courageous ; but it requires 
something more than courage and craft to found 
an empire, to resist the attacks of a nation as 
powerful as France, and drive back her soldiers to 
the coasts. 

The eight pieces of cannon will in vain have 
defended the redoubt: before the walls of new Teke- 
demta are completed, the French artillery will 
« brush away the miserable huts which at present 
form the whole city. 



128 



CHAPTER XI. 



Abd-el-Kader, when I predicted this to you, 
you told me I was a madman. However, is it not 
true that the experienced hunter does not amuse 
himself in chasing through the woods and plains 
the tiger which flies before him, but awaits him in 
his haunt, and when the ferocious animal has retired 
to his den, the ball which carries death misses not; 
for the space is narrow, and the tiger expires in 
the very spot he thought a secure asylum against 
the pursuit and shot of his enemies. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Departure. — Encampment. — The Convoy of Lime. — Departure.— 
Misfortune of the Coral Fishers. — Cruel Separation.— 
Description of the Plain watered by the Ouet-Mina. — 
Shells. — D epartur e. — A Stag. — Encampm ent. — Ruins. — Arri- 
val at Teknifil. — Report of an Expedition of General 
Letang. — The Sultan sets out with his Cavalry to watch 
his Motions. — The Five Marabouts. — Funefal Ceremonies. 
— I contrive Chessmen and Cards. — Departure for Mascara. 

We soon recommenced our wandering- life. On 
the 30th September, at sunrise, Abd-el-Kader gave 
the order for departure. The baggage being loaded, 
we set out, leaving Tekedemta, which I was not 
destined to see again. 

We passed on our left a large well wooded 
mountain, at half a league's distance towards the 
south. After two hours' march we entered a desert 
country ; the sky was cloudless, the road was diffi- 
cult, and intersected at every step by ravines. We 
still had the wooded mountain on our left; when, 
after two hours' journey, Ben-Faka made the signal 
for halting, and the Arabs pitched the camp upon 
the right bank of the Ouet-Mina. 

Abd-el-Kader sent his muleteers to the moun- 
tain, where the Moors had prepared the lime. 
They loaded the mules, carried the first load to 
Tekedemta, and returned to the camp long before 
night. The next day (1st October), at the moment 
2 G 



130 



CHAPTER XII. 



we were about to depart, I stopped before the Sal- 
tan's tent, and as I was looking at the negroes 
folding the covering and carpets, and loading them 
on the mules, I perceived Ben-Faka carrying under 
his arm three haicks, and followed by the three 
Italians. I drew near the fishermen, and asked 
them where they were going. 
I did not hear their reply. 

Ben-Faka, in a voice trembling with anger, 
ordered me imperiously to move on, and mount 
my mule. 

Sinister presentiments as to the fate of the un- 
fortunate men made me sorrowful. What new 
tortures awaited these unhappy men ? I saw, 
from a distance, Ben-Faka distribute to them the 
three haicks. They ought to have been clad some 
time before ; they had nothing on them except a 
ragged linen shirt. My three companions in mis- 
fortune took the road to Tekedemta. The Sultan 
sent them to the works; and, in his generous soli- 
citude, had ordered Ben-Faka to throw a haick 
over their shoulders ; without which they would 
inevitably have died of cold, in so severe and un- 
healthy a climate. 

On their arrival at Tekedemta, these poor Italians 
endured the worst treatment, and underwent pri- 
vations of every description. One of them sunk 
under the sufferings. Their misery was such that 
the recital would appear incredible. As for me, 
who knew the Arabs, I placed implicit faith in all 
the two fishermen related to me on their return. 

But let me not anticipate the course of events. 



SEPARATION FROM THE CORAL FISHERS. 131 

I mounted my mule, my heart penetrated with 
sorrow. This separation was horrible. They were 
prisoners like we were; their misfortune was our 
own. These poor sailors, I loved them ! Like 
me, whom they called their Lieutenant, they had 
endured hunger, had been beaten, had been ex- 
posed to the cold and the rain. We used to 
converse of our country, of our sufferings, of our 
hatred of the Arabs ; we hoped together. 

Every thing was common between us, fear, joy, 
regret, grief, and hope. We exclaimed together, 
" Home ! liberty !" During our stay at Tekedemta, 
I rose one night, and stole from Ben-Faka's sacks 
some bread and dried figs. The next day I went 
with Meurice to wash in the fouutain, where the 
Italians joined us. There I distributed my pro- 
visions ; we breakfasted together, and talked of our 
country. 

One of these Italians, Francesco, expressed only 
one wish ; that was, to eat macaroni, and to have 
a day's fishing at Algiers. I never found a fisher- 
man who regretted in so lively a manner his wan- 
dering life on the Mediterranean, his boat, and his 
nets. The breakfast finished, these good fellows 
washed our clothes, and dressed our wounds. 

We set off on the 1 st October at daybreak, and 
proceeded in an easterly direction, having still on 
our left, to the south, at a league's distance, the 
lofty wooded mountain, and after three hours' 
march, Ben-Faka had the camp pitched on the 
left bank of the Ouet-Mina, upon an eminence 
covered with silos, which were all empty. 



332 



CHAPTER XII. 



We did not see a single Arab or tent. The 
horsemen were obliged to go three or four hours' 
march from the camp to seek some barley for their 
horses. 

On the 4th October we raised the camp for the 
third time since our departure from Tekedemta. 
We marched at only half a league's distance from 
the wooded mountain. Ben-Faka placed our camp 
in a small plain on the further side of a little stream 
which flows into the Ouet-Mina ; it was not cul- 
tivated. The Ouet-Mina intersects it, and waters 
it in all directions. During the winter it has the 
appearance of a lake. The ground is covered with 
shrubs, which resemble brambles and thorns, and 
which produce very excellent fruit, like the medlar 
in colour, but not so large, and enclosing a kernel. 
The soldiers eat a great number of them. 

These bushes, like all the other shrubs of this 
country, are covered with snails, which fasten them- 
selves to the bark by means of their slime. When 
very hot, they turn their backs to the sun. Nature, 
in its admirable and infinite foresight, has formed 
their shells of so fine and clear a white, reflecting 
so well the rays of the sun, that these molluscse 
scarcely feel the greatest heat of summer. The 
quantity of animals in shells is so great on this 
plain, that an army which happened to be here 
without provisions, might live upon the v fruit, 
shrubs, fish of the Ouet-Mina, the snails (lactea et 
candidissima) , without fear of want or famine. 

The next day, the 5th October, we resumed our 



PLAIN OF THE OUET-MIN A. 



133 



journey towards the east. We had left the banks of 
the Ouet-Mina, which flows on towards the north, 
the woody mountain was still to the south of us. 

The advanced guard started a stag; the horse- 
men who escorted the baggage immediately set off 
in pursuit of it. The stag, with its nose in the 
air, fled with the rapidity of a bird, and soon dis- 
appeared among the bushes at the foot of the high 
mountain. 

Many deer and stags are doubtless to be found 
upon the sides of this mountain ; but in that of 
Tekedemta, as in the higher regions, the cold pre- 
vents the establishment of these animals. 

After a march of ten hours, we stopped upon 
an eminence covered with stones, which we thought 
might be the ruins of a city. We asked Abd-el- 
Kader and his marabouts, who replied they had 
never heard of a city existing on this spot. 

On the 6th October, after a march of two hours, 
Ben-Faka ordered the camp to be pitched on the 
last eminence which borders the plain of Mascara, 
on the eastern extremity, at a spot named Teknifil, 
near to which were five marabouts, upon five dif- 
ferent hills, near each other. We learnt that the 
French had left Oran, and that General Letang 
was directing his course towards El-Borgj, two 
leagues to the north of Teknefil. 

Abd-el-Kader immediately set out for that village 
with all his cavalry, and compelled the inhabitants 
to abandon it. 

The next day we saw the baggage, herds, wives, 



134 



CHAPTER XII. 



and children of the tribes of Borgia arrive in the 
plain. The inhabitants of Mascara, situated four 
leagues from Teknifil, also made preparations for 
evacuating that place, by the Sultan's orders. We 
remained at Teknifil fourteen days, during which 
time Abd-el-Kader followed the French army in 
the plains of Macta. 

He had collected all the tribes still faithful to 
his cause; his army consisted of from five to six 
thousand Arabs. 

Every morning, couriers bringing bad news 
arrived at the camp. At one time the French 
army, surrounded on all sides, could not retire 
either to Oran or Mousthaganem, at other times the 
Sultan had cut our troops in pieces. 

The Arabs who remained in the camp over- 
whelmed us, on the arrival of each intelligence, 
with blows, insults, and threats of death. 

Moreover, we were very badly fed ; the only 
nourishment they gave us was some chicha (boiled 
barley) and some execrable barley bread. They 
killed no sheep, and the tribes carried to the army 
the supplies which were usually brought to the 
camp. The despair and discouragement which 
Abd-el-Kader's kindness had banished for a time 
then returned more severely than ever. 

We sometimes went as far as the five marabouts. 
In an embankment formed by five small hills, is a 
very abundant spring, which fills a large reservoir 
dug by the hands of man. Trenches led the water 
through the plain, and fertilize it by numerous 
canals ; they traverse our camp in every direction, 



FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 135 

although situated a hundred and fifty paces from 
the spring, to which a very considerable number of 
animals come every evening. This position, which 
is very fine, would be a very favourable situation 
for a large agricultural establishment. 

The plain which spreads at the foot of the emi- 
nence is rich and productive; it is covered with 
tents, before which are seen large stacks of straw. 
It seemed to me that one half of it was cultivated, 
the other half served as pasture land for horses, 
oxen, and sheep. 

On returning, we heard mournful lamentations 
uttered by some Arab women collected at the feet 
of a marabout : they had just assisted at an inter- 
ment. 

The Arabs, when one of their relations die, 
collect together ; they bury the dead body in the 
cemetery, which is near the marabout. They cover 
the tomb with stones, which they take care to place 
straight, and in regular lines, and pass several 
hours of the clay near the grave, filling the air with 
mournful cries and plaintive exclamations. 

Adversity, they say, makes men industrious. 
During our stay at Teknefil I had an opportunity 
of verifying this proverb. 

The days were long and dreary. The absence 
of Abd-el-Kader caused great disorder in the 
camp, which was only occupied by his infantry. 
The Arabs abused the prisoners; they had sepa- 
rated Meurice and me from the coral fishers. We 
always conversed of our hopes, of our country, of 
our families; but by constantly referring to the 



136 



CHAPTER XII. 



same subjects, we exhausted them, and deep dejec- 
tion took possession of our spirits. 

The idea came into my head to make chessmen 
and cards, to shorten the hours. I immediately 
commenced, and succeeded pretty well. 

I have said that eight chests, containing Abd-el- 
Kader's reserve ammunition, were placed in the 
corner of our tent. As soon as Ben-Faka left. the 
tent, my greatest pleasure was in wetting the pow- 
der. If they had surprised me I should have been 
beaten or killed, but I preferred running the risk, 
and having the satisfaction of spoiling our enemies' 
ammunition. I stole one of the boards of these 
chests, and traced the squares upon it. I collected 
branches of the laurel rose, and with the assistance 
of a knife succeeded in carving and forming the 
chessmen. I also stole several sheets of paper 
(Ben-Faka had me punished for all these thefts by 
blows of the stick), and drew a piquet pack of 
cards. The knaves were jockeys, with pipes in 
their mouths, and having reel, green, yellow, and 
white waistcoats. The queens were women, dressed 
a la Francaise ; the one with a bonnet on her head, 
another with a turban, a third without any orna- 
ment, and a fourth with her hair in ringlets, in the 
English fashion. The kings, with double heads, 
wore large crowns. Chess and these cards afforded 
us a pleasant distraction. 

Ben-Faka and Ben-About, having charge of 
watching over Abd-el-Kader's tent during his 
absence, sent me there with Meurice to pass a part 
of the day. Although we were Christians, and 



CHESSMEN AND CARDS. 



137 



slaves, they had more confidence in us than in the 
Arabs of the camp. 

They also entreated us to keep a good watch, and 
warn off the soldiers who might have a desire to 
rob or pillage the chests and effects of the Sultan. 

They had taken away the sofa and cushions. 
We were warned not to touch any thing, as Chris- 
tians could not lay their hands on any thing 
belonging to the Sultan without defiling it. Then, 
seated on the carpet of this august and holy habita- 
tion, we passed our time in playing at chess and 
piquet. 

The marabouts, although manifesting a great 
disdain for the human figures I had drawn, did 
not the less express their admiration when they 
saw the knaves and queens. Those who had been 
to Oran and Algiers were struck with the truth and 
exactitude with which I had copied the European 
costume. 

The Arab cards are quite different to ours. The 
marabouts were very anxious to comprehend the 
game of piquet, and every time we played annoyed 
us with questions. 

I have seen draughts in the cafes of the camp at 
Mascara, at Tekedemta, and at Miliana, but never 
chessmen. 

One day, Abd-el-Kader seeing me play chess 
with Meurice, said, 

" I have seen my grandfather play with pieces 
like those, upon the squares of a draught-board.^ 

At length, on the 20th of October, after a halt of 
fourteen days at the five marabouts, during which 



138 



CHAPTER XII. 



we were exposed to threats, blows, and the most 
cruel privations, we struck our tents. 

A courier arrived at the camp in the middle of 
the night; he announced that the French had 
directed their march to the coast of Oran, and that 
the Sultan would be at Mascara on the morning of 
the 21st. 

In spite of the late hour (it was midnight), Ben- 
Faka ordered the troops and conductors of the 
baggage to set out. The weather was cold and wet, 
and a thick mist filled the atmosphere ; we suffered 
much, and I am perfectly persuaded the cold and 
damp laid the foundation of Meurice's illness, 
under which he sank. 

Whilst we were on the way, seated upon the 
mules which carried the sultan's chests, we heard 
the voice of Ben-Faka every quarter of an hour. 

' ' France, Meurice," cried he, " are you still on 
the mules ?" 

" Yes." 

" Yes." 

" Do not dismount.*" 
"No." 

" Above all, do not change your animals with the 
horsemen." 

" Be satisfied." 

Ben-Faka's uneasiness was not groundless. Hav- 
ing charge of the camp, he was responsible for all 
the disorders which might occur on the way ; he also 
dreaded we might dismount, and some of the escort, 
taking advantage of our inattention, might force 
open the Sultan's coffers, and pillage his treasure. 



DEPARTURE EOR MASCARA. 



139 



The confidence which Ben-Faka honoured us 
with, in placing under our charge the riches of 
Abd-el-Kader, flattered us exceedingly. These 
Christians, overwhelmed with insults and blows, 
these dogs, ill-treated and covered with dirt, were 
still considered more honest and faithful by the 
mistrustful Ben-Faka than the proud Arab horse- 
men. We had scrupulously watched in the tent 
of the sultan at Teknifil, and we had the happiness 
of arriving at our new encampment with our mules 
and the treasures they carried untouched. 

The day had not yet broken. Ben-Faka placed 
our camp at the foot of a mountain which borders 
the plain of Mascara to the north. 

The first rays of the sun discovered the beautiful 
town of Mascara. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Encampment at the Gates of Mascara. — Return of the Sultan. 
— Military Honours. — Joy. — Abd-el-Kader goes to visit his 
Wife. — The Sultan's Wife. — Zaka, Chief Attendant, is ar- 
rested. — He is condemned to be put in Irons. — His Escape. 
— He is retaken. — Dreadful Punishment'.— How Abd-el-Ka- 
der administers Justice. — Hasskn gives me a few Details 
respecting the sultan's expedition. — falsehoods. — letter 
of General Babon Rapatel. — Proposals of Exchange. — 
Reply. — Joy. — Grief. 

I have said the camp was pitched at the foot of 
the mountain which borders the plain of Mascara 
on the north. A small stream, which falls through 
the city, and which waters in its course numerous 
gardens, filled with fruit-trees of every description, 
particularly almond-trees, traversed the camp ; the 
banks were covered with laurel rose trees. 

Mascara is situated in the middle of a mountain 
defile, upon a little hill, difficult and steep of 
ascent. The houses of Mascara rise, white and 
smiling, from the midst of a grove of Barbary fig- 
trees ; some poplars rise over the city, and wave 
over the roofs of the houses like superb " aigrettes;" 
the lofty and slender minaret of the mosque shone, 
like a lance planted in the middle of a camp, 
graceful and glittering in the sun, amidst the tufted 
foliage of the fig and poplar trees. 



ENCAMPMENT BEFORE MASCARA. 141 



Mascara presents a delightful appearance. I 
stole a sheet of paper, and went a few paces from 
the outer tents, for the purpose of sketching it. 
I had scarcely commenced my task, when a chaou 
on horseback perceived me, rode towards me, and 
applied a blow of a stick to my shoulders, and I, 
to escape a repetition, started off quickly to our 
tent, with my unfinished sketch in my hand. 

A courier brought the news to the camp of the 
arrival of Abd-el-Kader. The infantry took their 
arms, and set out about ten minutes' distance along 
the Mascara road ; they then formed double file ; 
Mouftar marshalled his cavalry in two ranks, behind 
the lines of the infantry. 

As Abd-el-Kader passed the first soldiers, both 
horse and foot broke their order, and hastened to 
place themselves in two lines before his tent. At 
the moment he entered it, three cannon-shot, fired 
at Mascara, announced to the neighbouring tribes 
the return of the Sultan, and his presence in his 
camp. The infantry and cavalry fired numerous 
volleys of musquetry, in rejoicing over the great 
victory the Sultan had obtained over the French. 
The camp, throughout the day, presented the ap- 
pearance of unusual disorder and commotion. The 
horsemen of the surrounding tribes, whom Abd-el- 
Kader had dragged on his expedition, returned in 
crowds, stopped merely to feed their horses, and 
set out again; there was a continual going and 
coming. In addition to the continued influx of 
strangers, imagine the joy, the pride, the shouts of 
both horsemen and foot. The whole day was 



142 



CHAPTER XIII. 



passed in racing of horses, firing of guns, and noisy- 
clamours. 

At sunset, Abd-el-Kader, followed by some of 
the chief marabouts, mounted his horse, and pro- 
ceeded, accompanied by his thirty negroes, to the 
tent of his wife. 

This tent is situated three-quarters of a league 
to the south of Mascara, in a spot where Abd-el- 
Kader possesses a marabout and a garden. 

The chiefs who accompanied Abd-el-Kader have 
also tents, under which dwell their wives, with their 
father, mother, and such of their relations as do 
not belong to the army. ' This reunion of tents 
forms a kind of women's camp. 

The tent of Abd-el-Kader's wife is black — a 
weft of camel's hair. Abd-el-Kader is, they say, 
a very loving husband; his conduct proves it; he 
has not a single concubine. His wife is very 
handsome; her tall and slender form, which shows 
to advantage under the folds of her haick, fastened 
round her waist by a woollen girdle, distinguishes 
her above the other women. In general, the Arabs 
prefer stout, lusty women : Abd-el-Kader has a 
different taste. His frequent absences for three or 
four months do not diminish in the least the 
tenderness and strength of his attachment. When 
we were on the banks of the Ouet-Mina, he sent 
his wife fruits, butter, honey, and all the rarest 
and best provisions. 

She has presented him with a little girl ; they 
say she bore a son on the very day the French 
entered Mascara. I have never heard it mentioned ; 



sultan's wife. 



143 



if Abd-el-Kader had ever really had a son, the 
Arabs would have mentioned it to me. 

During the night, the thirty negroes keep guard, 
that nothing may interrupt the amours of the 
Sultan ; in their absence from the camp, the 
infantry supply their place around his tent. 

In the middle of the night, a hand quietly 
raised the curtains of the tent ; a man protruded 
his head, — listened with attention, — cast a rapid 
glance around him, and suddenly darted forth. 
The sentinels, who were not asleep, seized Zaka, 
Abd-el-Kader's chief attendant. 

Zaka was a negro, and a very old slave ; he had 
for a very long time taken advantage of the 
moments of the Sultan's leaving his tent, to intro- 
duce himself into it, and steal at his ease the 
revenue of the imperial treasure. 

Impunity seemed to have cast her aegis over all 
his thefts. The thirty negroes, whether from the 
confidence which the character and high functions 
of Zaka inspired them with, or from not wishing 
to betray a brother, had never detected him, 
although they had seen him issue more than once, 
at unseasonable hours, and always in the Sultan's 
absence, from a spot where he could have no 
business. 

But the Arab soldiers showed themselves much 
less accommodating. 

At the rising of the sun, Abd-el-Kader had 
already returned to the camp. 

They led Zaka before him, and showed him 
several sultanins (silver coin) found upon his person. 



144 



CHAPTER XIII. 



The coffee makers bore witness that Zaka had 
for some time spent large sums at their cafes. No 
day passed without his treating his friends. They 
found in his tent haicks, bernous, yataghans, and 
magnificent pistols. 

Every one was acquainted with his uncertain and 
limited income. Where had he found the money 
to pay for these articles, and the amount of his 
daily expenditure ? 

Abcl-el-Kader condemned him to be fettered, 
without fixing the period of his enlargement. 

He was conducted to our tent and confided to 
the charge of his old friend, Ben-Faka, who an- 
swered for his prisoner. 

They did not fasten the iron rod connecting 
the two rings which enclose the legs of the sufferer 
w r ith a padlock, as the punishment was to be of 
long duration; but the chaous riveted a nail, in- 
stead of a padlock, to the end of the cross bar. 

On seeing Zaka stretched out, with the irons on 
his feet, I could not help saying to him with a 
smile, 

"You are taken, then P" 
(< Yes." 

" Do you deserve it ?" 
"No." 

" How ! did you not steal ?" 
" Never." 

"What assurance ! But you have never entered 
this tent to visit your friend, Ben-Faka, without 
stealing fruit, bread, or cakes." 



HIS ESCAPE. 



145 



u That is a different thing ; I was hungry. 
Like the camel, the Arab picks up his food 
wherever he passes/' 

" You are now bound in a manner to prevent 
you stirring ; you will not steal any more fruit, 
bread, or sultanins." 

" I shall soon be in a large garden ; the trees will 
hang down to my face, their boughs loaded with 
fruit/' 

During this conversation, Ben-Faka, summoned 
by his duty into the tent of Abd-el-Kader, had 
gone out. Zaka dragged himself upon the bales, 
took refuge at the bottom of the tent, and allowed 
himself to fall to the ground, like a man overcome 
with fatigue, and pretended to sleep. 

Meurice watched all his movements with the 
greatest attention. 

" The negro/'' said he, u is attempting to 
escape." 

" He is asleep." 

" Rather say, he is pretending to sleep : he is 
trying to escape/ 5 

"But he is fastened by both feet/' 
"No matter. Watch his manoeuvre/' 
Zaka unhooked a gun, which he placed upon two 
bales ; he took off his black bernou, spread it over 
the gun, and crouched beneath it. 

I left the tent, and a short time afterwards I saw 
him traversing the camp, covered with his white 
haick, and trying to conceal his face. He walked 
slowly ; but as soon as he had passed the limits, he 

H 



146 



CHAPTER XIII. 



began lo run, and soon disappeared among- the fig 
trees on the mountain. 

Ben-Faka, on his return, discovered the escape 
of the prisoner committed to his charge, and for 
whom he was personally responsible. He was 
greatly enraged, and overwhelmed us with insults, 
struck us, as accomplices of Zaka, and for not hav- 
ing warned some one of his attempts to escape. 

A hundred horsemen immediately mounted and 
dispersed around the camp. 

Ben-Faka wished to conceal from the Sultan 
Zaka's escape. He hoped to lay hands on his 
prisoner before the news of his flight and of his 
capture could reach him. But the horsemen had 
not returned, a half-hour had elapsed since their 
departure, when a chaou announced to him that 
the Sultan wished to speak with him. 

Ben-Faka was proceeding towards Abd-el- 
Kader's tent, when he perceived Zaka in the middle 
of a guard of horse, his hands tied behind his back. 
He took possession of his prisoner, and entered 
with him into Abd-el-Kader ? s presence. 

Without any form of process, the Sultan con- 
demned Zaka to irons for an indefinite period, and 
to receive for three successive days, each day at 
three different times, six hundred blows of the 
stick; two hundred blows at seven o'clock in the 
morning, two hundred at mid-day, and two hundred 
at eight o'clock at night ; in all, eighteen hundred 
blows in three days. 

Zaka was immediately conducted to our tent. 
They made him lie with his face to the ground, 



DREADFUL PUNISHMENT. 



147 



two of his friends held the flap of his bernou, and 
the chaous administered the first two hundred blows. 

The important trust this man had enjoyed near 
the Sultan's person, and his generosity, had gained 
him many friends. He owed •his life on this occa- 
sion to their zeal and attachment. How could he 
have otherwise supported so cruel a punishment as 
eighteen hundred blows of a stick ? 

But the chaous charged with the execution struck 
sufficiently light. The Arabs who held the flaps 
of the bernou took care to draw it so forcibly that 
it presented a tolerable resistance, and weakened 
the force of the blows. 

When the chaous had completed their task, they 
carried him into the tent. There his friends kneaded 
him, pulled his dislocated limbs, rubbed his whole 
body, and sought to revive him; and' Ben-Faka, 
remembering only his ancient attachment, lavished 
every attention upon the unfortunate man, and had 
some coffee brought for him. 

Zaka recovered by degrees ; but was not freed 
from his irons ; and, at my departure, he was still 
stretched on the earth, expecting daily, but in vain, 
a word from the Sultan to let them fall. 

The Sultan's form of justice is very simple and 
very expeditious. 

The two parties are introduced into his tent. 
The plaintiff states his case. They then jDroceed 
to examine the witnesses, if there are any. The 
defendant presents his defence. The Arabs in 
general are not able to explain themselves without a 
long harangue and a great deal of noise. 



148 



CHAPTER XIII. 



When this description of pleading is concluded, 
the Sultan decides alone, without appeal, the punish- 
ment which is to be inflicted on the criminal. He 
does not even pronounce a word, but certain signs 
are arranged between him and the chaous. 

If Abd-el-Kader raises his hand, the 1 accused is 
condemned to imprisonment. 

If he raises his hand horizontally, the accused is 
taken beyond the boundary of the camp, and the 
chaous sever his head from his body. 

If he inclines his hand to the earth the accused is 
dragged out, bound, thrown with his face to the 
earth, and beaten by the chaous. 

The Sultan generally fixes the number of blows. 
If he does not, the chaous prolong or shorten the 
punishment according to their own pleasure. 

The greatest part of the disputes and accusations 
arise from thefts, which are constantly occurring 
among these barbarians, and which generally meet 
with a great deal of forbearance. They shut their 
eyes to the greatest part of these offences. 

I think I have already said that the chaous, 
besides the functions of executioners, also fill the 
duties of police and gens d'armes. They keep 
order in the camp, and watch over the numerous 
crowd which surrounds the Sultan's tent the whole 
day. But since Abd-el-Kader has given his 
cavalry trowsers and red vests, Mouftar has placed 
on each side of the tent a guard of twenty soldiers, 
who are relieved every three hours. 

Since the Sultan's return, nothing was talked of 
but the great victory he had gained over the French. 



ACCOUNT OF THE SULTAN'S EXPEDITION. 149 

I was very impatient to collect a few certain details 
of the result of the expedition. 

A negro, named Hassen, a servant of Ben-Faka, 
on our arrival had the charge of attending to our 
tent. He had passed five months at Oran as a 
prisoner. At the conclusion of the peace they had 
sent him back to the Sultan. Hassen remembered 
the good treatment lie had experienced at Oran, 
and therefore behaved towards us as a ^ood and 
attentive servant. But the unfortunate fellow stole 
a bernou : he was discovered and degraded. He 
was driven from our tent, and placed in the ranks 
of Abd-el-Kader's thirty negroes. 

His new position was not to his taste, and as 
often as he w r as able to escape, he came to our tent 
to talk and tell us the news. Often, in the middle 
of the night, when it was cold or rainy, I saw 
Hassen enter stealthily, and lie down by our side. 
He had followed Abd-el-Kader on his expedition, 
and I was anxious to question him on the events 
which were the general subject of conversation. 

" Did you fire many shots ? How many French- 
men did you kill P" 

" I did not fire a single shot. I remained the 
whole time near Abd-el-Kader, who stopped as 
usual at the distance of quarter of a league from the 
combatants. 

" The first day we were at the village of El- 
Borgj. The Arabs were forced to leave it and gain 
the plain of Mascara. The second day we saw the 
French army encamped on the banks of the Abra- 
Thefollowing days we watched its motions, and 



150 



CHAPTER XIII. 



accompanied it during its march. It advanced 
across the plain, and we were on the mountains 
which border it. The Douairs and the Ismaelas 
alone have exchanged a few shots with the Arabs, 
without either party suffering any loss. The French 
fired a few cannon shot at us without effect. 

" General Letang, after having emptied the silos 
of the Garabas, renewed the garrison at Moustha- 
ganem, revictualled the town, accomplished the 
same at Arzew in passing, and had returned to Oran, 
without having been seriously disturbed during the 
whole expedition." 

Such was, in a summary, the account Hassen 
gave me of this glorious campaign, of which Abd- 
el-Kader boasted so much the glorious results. 
Such was the importance of the success that the 
Arabs celebrated with so much joy, noise, and 
pride. 

Such are the expedients of Abd-el-Kader for 
keeping alive the zeal of his partizans, for stirring 
up the tribes fatigued with the war, for exciting the 
fanaticism and devotion of this credulous and 
superstitious people. When I call to mind his 
paltry resources, his undisciplined and tattered 
bands, the unstable supports upon which he founds 
his rule, his misunderstanding with a great number 
of tribes, I cannot comprehend how he hopes to 
keep the field long. Abd-el-Kader finds himself 
at this moment between the French, who are pre- 
paring formidable expeditions against him, and the 
tribes whose tents he pillages, whose horses, wives, 
children, goods, herds, he carries off. The tribes 



LETTERS FROM GENERAL RAPATEL. 151 



have began to send forth a cry of grief and com- 
plaint at the sight of the complete destruction of 
their families and property. 

I had passed the whole day with Meurice, in one 
of the gardens which surround the camp, playing 
at chess ; we returned at sunset to our tent, 
when Ben-Faka told me Abd-el-Kader wished to 
see me. 

I hastened to the Sultan, who said to me with 
kindness, " Here are two letters." 

The one was addressed to me by General Ra- 
patel; the other was for Meurice. 

I opened the General's letter, and told Abd-el- 
Kader what it contained. 

" In compliance with the orders of the Governor 
of the French possessions in Africa, General Baron 
Rapatel will give ten Arab prisoners, whom Abd- 
el-Kader may point out, in exchange for the six 
prisoners, French and Italian. I have written/' 
added the General, "to send the ten prisoners, 
and ten others, whom I offer in payment of the 
ransom of Mohammed Ben-Ousseind, the old Bey 
of Medeah. 

" You may request Abd-el-Kader to send to a 
French town the prisoners of whose ransom we are 
treating. I give him the assurance that, as soon 
as the Arab prisoners are returned from France, I 
will have them conducted wherever he may desire." 

This last phrase made Abd-el-Kader smile, and 
he immediately said to me, 

" You shall set out when my prisoners are here." 

The Bey of Medeah was our ally. The Bey 



152 



CHAPTER. XIII. 



of Miliaria, according to information I have col- 
lected from the Arabs, fell unexpectedly upon 
Medeah, pillaged the town, obtained possession of 
fifty muskets given by the French to Mohammed 
Ben-Ousseind, and led the latter away prisoner. 

This unfortunate man was thrown, loaded with 
chains, into the prisons of Ouchcla, a town situated 
upon the frontiers of the empire of Morocco, upon 
which it depends. He groans there yet, exposed 
to the most horrible treatment, and liable every 
day, from the cruel disposition of his jailers, to 
die of hunger. 

It is another fact in support of the good faith 
and neutrality the Emperor of Morocco has sworn 
to maintain towards us. The Bey of Medeah, Mo- 
hammed Ben-Ousseind, Abd-el-Kader's prisoner, 
has been sent captive, because he was our ally, to 
Ouchda, a town of which the Emperor of Morocco 
is sovereign ! 

I return to the letter of General Rapatel. 

Abd-el-Kader added, that he must have the 
twenty prisoners. 

I observed to him he asked too many. 

He consulted the marabouts who surrounded 
him, and said, 

" Write to your sultan that you shall not depart 
before he has sent me twenty Arabs." 

" But you are not reasonable. Listen. The 
General grants ten prisoners ; ask him fifteen ; you 
will give up five prisoners, he will add five, and 
the difference will be equally divided." 

The expedient seemed to please the Sultan. 



PROPOSALS OF EXCHANGE. 



153 



" I must have fifteen. As for the Bey of Medeah, 
write that I will release him if they give me all the 
prisoners who are at Marseilles. But let us occupy 
ourselves at present about your exchange. We 
will arrange this affair afterwards." 

I wrote to the General and my family. As I 
sealed the letters, Abd-el-Kader resumed, 

" Have you said all you intended to say °" 

" Yes." 

" You have done well. You may write all you 
desire about what you see, or what you hear around 
you, respecting the manner I treat my prisoners. 
Restrain neither your tongue nor your pen, through 
dread of raising my anger. A Sultan as great, as 
holy as I am, fears no one in this world." 

I hastened to carry Meurice the letter from his 
wife ; I informed him of the favourable disposition 
of Abd-el-Kader. The letter of his wife, and the 
certainty of his approaching deliverance, afforded 
great consolation to the unfortunate man, and cast 
a soothing balm over the cruel wounds which rent 
his heart. 

He pressed my hand, and fell asleep smiling. 
As for me, I entertained, for a moment, the hope of 
seeing his strength and health return ; for a mo- 
ment I thought that I should one day hear him in 
his own country, relating the history of his cap- 
tivity and his sufferings. I approached him to 
warm his limbs, benumbed with cold. I fell asleep 
happy and contented. But our sorrows had not yet 
reached their termination — new torments awaited 
us the following day. 

h 2 



154 



CHAPTER XIII. 



. From this moment, I have only a mournful and 
lamentable adventure to relate. No more plea- 
sures, feasts, and good treatment; but have to 
speak of tears, groans, and soon, in the midst of 
these scenes of despair, depression of spirits, and 
unheard-of tortures, the sad and pitiless death, 
which will soon come to diminish our number. I 
feel the necessity of collecting myself, of calming 
the emotion that these recollections have excited 
in my breast, before commencing the recital of 
a drama, of which the denouement is so heart- 
rending. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Meurice falls sick. — Cold. — The Arabs make Cartridges. — 
Abd-el-Kader spreads the news of the Death of the King 
of the French. — Rejoicing. — War in Miniature. — Description 
of the Manoeuvres. — Arrival of two Soldiers made Pri- 
soners at Tlemsen. — False Intelligence. — Recital.— Arrival 
of Mons. Lanternier. — Misery. — Sufferings. — Cruel Treat- 
ment. — He is sent to Mascara. — Despair.— Meurice's Suffer- 
ings. — Kindness of Abd-el-Kader. 

The night was very cold ; we could not keep 
ourselves warm. In the morning, when Meurice 
wished to rise, his limbs were frozen. He was 
obliged to remain stretched on the earth, or drag 
himself along like a cripple. His blood had flown 
to his head, which caused him dreadful pain . 
About eleven o'clock, I carried him into the sun, 
hoping that a little warmth would ease his pain. 

A few days previously, they had pitched a small 
tent at two paces from ours. For six days, from 
morning until mid-day, a soldier from each tent 
came there to make cartridges. The Arabs first 
turn the paper round a stick, and introduce the 
ball into this case. When they have made a cer- 
tain number of them, they bring the powder upon 
sheep-skin, and a party of the soldiers fill the 
cases by means of a small reed measure ; others 
fold the cartridges. They form packets of fifteen, 
which they roll up in a sheet of paper, the size of 



156 



CHAPTER XIV. 



which is about equal to the length of the cartridge, 
and tie the whole up with a string. They must 
have made in the six mornings, thirty thousand 
cartridges. The soldiers were overlooked by Arabs 
who did not understand anything of this manu- 
facture. They thus took no pains or precau- 
tions ; and, moreover, in order to steal some of 
the powder, they often placed three or four mea- 
sures in one cartridge. I have found many in the 
same packet an inch and a half longer than the 
rest. The Arabs open them afterwards, and thus 
obtain powder, which they dispense so uselessly, 
and to so little purpose, as soon as they have their 
guns in their hands. 

On the 28th of October, Abd-el-Kader received 
from Morocco a letter, which announced to him the 
death of the King" of France. I believe the Em- 
peror of Morocco spoke of Charles X. Abd-el- 
Kader thought he meant Louis-Philippe. 

He immediately spread the report in his camp, 
that the King of the French had been assassinated ; 
that a civil war was on the point of breaking out in 
France, and that the troops cantoned in Algiers 
were about to be recalled. 

This intelligence excited a great enthusiasm, a 
lively and uproarious rejoicing. The troops pre- 
pared to celebrate, worthily, the retreat of the 
French army ; and for three whole days there was 
nothing but fetes and rejoicings, both at Mascara 
and in the camp. Every morning, the cannons of 
the city conveyed to the surrounding country the 
signal for the amusements which were about to 



GENERAL REJOICINGS. 



157 



take place, and of which the presence of the Sultan 
heightened the splendour. Men, women, and 
children hastened to the camp, from all sides, and 
assisted at the mock engagements which the troops 
represented for three consecutive days. 

Every time the horsemen marched out to execute 
these manoeuvres, the chief secretary of the Sultan 
sought for me, and conducted me out of the camp, 
and there for three or four hours we watched the 
racing and the mock combats of the Arabs. 

Abd-el-Kader divided his cavalry into two sepa- 
rate troops. The first body without bernous or 
haicks, with red waistcoats and trowsers, repre- 
sented the French. Abd-el-Kader placed himself 
in their ranks. 

The second body, with waistcoats and trowsers, 
haicks and bernous, were the Arabs. 

The two troops proceeded to post themselves 
vis-a-vis, at a considerable distance from each other. 
Abd-el-Kader sent ten French horsemen to skir- 
mish. The Arabs sent as many from their side. 

The assailants from the two parties set off, at 
first in a walk; then, as they advanced, increased 
their horses' pace. Arrived at twenty-five paces* 
distance from each other, they shouted their war 
cry, Ah! ah! ah! — shook their haicks and ber- 
nous, took aim at their adversaries, fired three 
shots, drew their sabres, and imitated a sword 
fight. 

Then ten fresh horsemen detached themselves, 
at the same moment, from the two bodies of troops, 
and threw themselves into the midst of the fight. 



158 



CHAPTER XIV. 



The two first parties returned to their respective 
sides, whilst the new comers renewed the fight. 

Sometimes even forty horsemen fought together, 
until the presence of fresh auxiliaries balanced the 
chances of success. The weakest retired at full 
gallop, uttering loud shouts, brandishing their 
sabres, and firing their guns. 

At other times, a few horsemen left the field of 
battle, galloped far off on the plain, imitated a 
pursuit, and when they had galloped enough, 
returned each to his respective party. 

The moment arrived in which the greatest con- 
fusion reigned in each camp. The melee was 
numerous and close, bernous fluttered, sabres 
glittered, a cloud of smoke from the powder con- 
cealed from the view of the spectators the com- 
batants, whose ferocious and warlike exclamations 
were still audible. Suddenly, the drums on both 
sides beat the recall. The chiefs restored order ; 
the horsemen allowed their horses a few minutes' 
rest ; the attacks, the races, the combats, and the 
evolutions then commenced afresh. 

This military parade always terminated in the 
defeat of the French. Abcl-el-Kader, when he 
thought it time to conclude the exercises, threw 
himself into the midst of the melee. Two Arabs 
seized the bridle of his horse, and led the Sultan 
prisoner to his tent, amidst shouts of joy and en- 
thusiasm. Abd-el-Kader made his horse prance, 
assumed the attitude of a conqueror, and cast- 
ing a haughty glance upon his Arabs, who were 
charmed with his grace and warlike appearance, 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MANOEUVRES. 



159 



drew the reins. The horse reared up, and ad- 
vanced on his hind legs. 

Every time Abd-el-Kader passed near me, he 
had the vanity to make his horse prance and rear 
up. This magnificent animal neighed, tore up the 
earth with his hoofs, moved with grace and vigour 
under the skilful band of his master, whose smile 
seemed to say to me — 

" Am I not a superb horseman ?" 

And I to reply in myself — 

"You would not be so bold, my handsome 
Sultan, if you were on an English saddle; you 
would soon measure the earth." 

On the last clay, the infantry mingled with the 
cavalry : finding themselves uncomfortable among 
the horses, they hastened, divided in two parties, 
to conceal themselves behind the bushes, after hav- 
ing fired numerous shots. However, they rejoined 
the horsemen when Abd-el-Kader w 7 as made pri- 
soner, and returned to the camp, filling the air 
with shouts of triumph. 

These military parades were now ended, and I 
gained my tent in deep thought. I was far from 
giving any credit to the report spread by Abd-el- 
Kader, in the camp and among the neighbouring 
tribes. I reflected on the spectacle of which I had 
been three days a witness. The voice of Ben- 
Faka aroused me from my reverie. 

" There has been a battle at Tlemsen," said he, 
" and the caliphat has put the French to flight. 
He has made a number of prisoners. He is 
expected every moment to bring them before the 



160 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Sultan. Thus you are likely to have a more nume- 
rous company." 

(< Since I have been here I have had the oppor- 
tunity of becoming acquainted with all your tricks 
and all your falsehoods. You tell me of the defeat 
of the French, and the capture of Tlemsen by the 
caliphat. Ben-Faka, when we were encamped at 
Tekedemta, did you not announce to me one 
morning, with the greatest assurance, that A^chmed 
Bey, of Constantine, had obtained possession of 
Bona ? The cannon on the redoubt at Tekedemta, 
did it not sing with its hoarse and cracked voice, for 
a whole day, this memorable victory gained by one 
of the Sultan's allies ? Now, does the Bey of Con- 
stantine or a French general command in the city 
of Bona ? You will tell me you were deceived ; it 
is the wisest answer you can make. Yesterday 
they deceived, you when they told you the king of 
the French had been assassinated. To-day they 
deceive you, when they write that Tlemsen has 
fallen into the hands of the caliphat." 

" Son of a dog, the prisoners will soon arrive, 
then we shall see which of us has spoken the 
best." 

I rejoined Meurice. He was no better, but, on 
the contrary, his state grew worse from day to day. 
I passed a part of the time in rubbing his aching 
limbs, in warming his legs and feet by placing 
them to my breast. To soothe the violence of his 
head-aches, and allay the irritation of the blood, 
which had retreated to that part, I wet my hands, 
and applied them while moist to his burning fore- 



TWO PRISONERS. 



161 



head. It was the only thing which at all relieved 
the acute pain. 

I was thus engaged, when Ben-Faka re-entered 
the tent, and in a voice of triumph, " Come/' said 
he, " the caliphat has sent the Christian prisoners 
he has made at Tlemsen." Without replying to 
Ben-Faka I left the tent, and perceived two misera- 
ble soldiers, almost naked, without shoes, in a state 
of indescribable misery, whom the chaous drove 
before them with blows, as a butcher urges his 
weary oxen towards the slaughter-house. The 
prisoners stopped before the Sultan's tent. While 
they went to inform Abd-el-Kader of their arrival, 
I attempted to approach one of them and question 
him, but the chaous soon drove me off. As I de- 
parted, I saw the two soldiers enter the tent of the 
Sultan. I was relating to Meurice what had 
occurred, when the two new prisoners, conducted 
by Ben-Faka, were led into our tent. Ben-Faka 
gave each of them a haick. I made them a sign 
to approach us, and asked them a few questions. 

" Whence do you come ?" 

" From Tlemsen/' 

u What are your names ? To what regiment do 
you belong ? " 

"I am called Bourgeois," replied the first, " an 
old soldier of the 11th; my companion, formerly 
of the 66th, is named Fleury. We both belong to 
the battalion at Tlemsen." 

" There was a fight, then ? " 

" Xot at all, lieutenant," (I had already informed 
them who we were.) "It occurred thus; the Be- 



162 



CHAPTER XIV. 



douins had been blockading the town for some 
time, provisions were no longer brought to the 
market, the garrison were then put on quarter of 
their rations. They say appetite comes in eating ; 
very probable ; but it comes much quicker when 
there is nothing in the stomach. One morning, 
Fleury and I had our teeth sharper set than usual, 
and said to one another, 6 We must forage among 
these Bedouins/ There were a great many fruit- 
trees around the town. One or two did not satisfy 
us ; we had gone out to enj oy ourselves, we made 
a good hit of it, and were about to return, when — 
not so — we were caught by the Bedouins. We 
have been taken in the snare like larks, and the 
robbers, not contented with making us prisoners, 
have applied the stick the whole way. 

" Abd-el-Kader, they say, has earnestly com- 
manded them to take as many prisoners as they 
can, but not to kill them ; that is, without doubt, 
the reason of our still having our heads on our 
shoulders. 

" We have suffered much. We must hope, since 
we are even in Abd-el-Kader's palace, that we 
shall be no longer so ill treated. However, lieu- 
tenant, if you write to the governor, do not forget 
to mention the names of Fleury and Bourgeois, for 
this new cantonment is not at all to our taste/' 

I gave these two unfortunate men every assur- 
ance of attachment and interest, and on the evening 
of the very day of their arrival, after having con- 
sulted with Abd-el-Kader, I wrote to general 
Rapatel, informed him of their arrival, and re- 



RECITAL. 



163 



quested him to give in exchange for them six 
Arab prisoners. 

My new companions in^ misfortune soon shared 
all the anxiety I felt on account of Meurice's 
health ; they forgot their own sufferings and misery 
to join me in attending to our poor invalid. They 
rubbed his arms, his stomach, and placed by turns 
his frozen legs upon their knees. In order to dress 
my wounds, the Italians had made bandages with 
the patches from Meurice's shirt. Bourgeois washed 
these rags, clamped them, and, after having twisted 
them to squeeze out the water, applied them moist 
to the forehead of our patient. These rags, misera- 
ble though they were, were nevertheless better than 
our wet hands, which quickly became dried by the 
feverish heat of the sick man. 

The next day Ben-Faka, in a tone as proud and 
disdainful as that he had employed yesterday to 
announce to me the arrival of the prisoners from 
Tlemsen, said to me, 

" Come, look towards the town." 

"Well." 

" You hear shouts, you perceive the horse- 
men ?" 
« Well." 

"Well! They are bringing a prisoner to the 
Sultan. Have I again deceived you this morning ? 
Here he is." 

A French prisoner, about fifty years of age, 
passed before us. A long beard, a thick moustache, 
of a colour approaching to red, fell untrimmed and 
dirty, upon his naked breast ; a shirt in rags covered 



164 



CHAPTER XIV. 



his shoulders ; soldier's pantaloons all torn, with a 
grey hat broken on all sides, completed his costume, 
and the blood which escaped from the wounds 
upon his legs and naked feet left a mark upon the 
road. From the outskirts of Mascara the children 
had followed his heels, and formed around him a 
noisy and cruel escort. They never ceased tor- 
menting the captive, either by striking him or 
throwing stones at him. Several wounds were 
visible on his head, from whence trickled black and 
clotted blood. When the unhappy man passed 
before me, I wished to approach him, for Meurice, 
who had been carried out of the tent, recognised 
M. Lanternier, but the chaous raised their sticks ; 
the prisoner proceeded, and was conducted before 
Abd-el-Kader, amidst the shouts of the multitude. 
At the sight of this unfortunate man, bruised and 
wounded, and of the blood which flowed from his 
numerous wounds, Abd-el-Kader was moved with 
pity. 

He caused Ben-Faka to give him a haick and 
slippers. 

Then, as he had sent for him from Droma to 
accompany us, he ordered him to be conducted to 
our tent. But the chaous who had escorted him 
exclaimed, 

" Send the dog to prison, for he refused to walk 
and obey your orders." 

"Have you despised the will of Abd-el-Kader?" 

"No, I have not despised your authority. I 
had suffered much. I was very unhappy; but 
when the chaous came to tear me from Droma, 



ARRIVAL OF MONS. LANTERNIER. 165 



where my wife and my children are prisoners, al- 
though I was separated from them, although my 
prison was distant from theirs, I fell into a violent 
fit of despair : I wished not to stir from the town 
where my wife and child are kept prisoners. I 
threw myself on the ground. They beat me. I 
entreated the chaous to leave me near them, but 
they ill-used me so much the more. Then I arose." 

" You see I have obeyed ; I am in your camp." 

" To prison, at Mascara !" 

" But am I not sufficiently punished ?" 

" Again to a prison." 

" O ! let me remain in the camp, I entreat you, 
Abd-el-Kader ! I have been well beaten ! Look, 
my feet are torn by the stones and brambles. The 
chaous have broken their sticks over my shoulders ; 
the children of Mascara have laid open my fore- 
head with stones. To prison, after so many suffer- 
ings ! and my wife ! and my daughter ! Be good, 
be generous. A moment arrives when every thing 
should have a change. I entreat you — I can walk 
no farther ; I am hungry, I am cold ; there is not 
a spot on my body which is not covered with my 
blood ! Do not send me to prison, I entreat you ; 
spare me ; I never suffered so much." 

Abd-el-Kader was inexorable. 

" Conduct the Christian to Mascara," said he to 
the chaous. "Put him to prison, but keep him 
separate from the Arabs, who might strike him." 

"To prison!" exclaimed the unhappy man, 
but he could not finish the phrase : a blow of a stick 
stopped his complaint upon his lips. We saw him 



166 



CHAPTER XIV. 



repass our tent. They prevented our saying a 
word of consolation to him, or pressing his hand ; 
only, when he was near us, he turned his head ; 
he looked at us, tears rolled clown his cheeks, a deep 
despair was painted in that look. He must have 
read in our eyes our regret, our compassion, our 
grief. But he had slackened his pace. The chaous 
struck him, the children filled the air with shouts 
of derision, they collected stones. The unfortunate 
man suddenly sunk his head, a flint inflicted a 
fresh wound upon it, the blood flowed fast, the 
victim tottered, but the executioners mercilessly 
drove him on before them. 

I hastened to the tent to conceal the tears that 
the sight of these tortures drew from me. The other 
prisoners also re-entered the tent. We all wept. 

Meurice did not improve ; on the contrary, his 
state became every day more alarming; by our 
united efforts we could not succeed in warming 
him. Bourgeois and Fleury rubbed his limbs, at 
the same time that they applied to his forehead 
and temples the bandages soaked in cold water. 
As for me, I went to the tent of Ben Faka's coffee 
maker, and warmed the remains of the linen, and 
Meurice's slippers ; I brought them back heated, 
and placed them on his legs and feet. We gave 
him barley-water to drink, but we had the greatest 
difficulty in obtaining it ; for, in spite of Abd-el- 
Kader's orders, they did not wish us to approach 
the kitchen fire. Meurice drank it with repug- 
nance, for it was not sweetened. He also expressed 
a desire to go to Mascara, to take a vapour bath, 



meurice's sufferings. 



167 



which would, he said, qni'e restore him. I imme- 
diately requested Ben Faka to ask Abd-el-Kader's 
permission to come before him. Ben Faka, who, 
after all, was a well-disposed man, discharged my 
commission, and soon returned to announce to me 
that the Sultan consented to see me. 

Abd-el-Kader smiled on perceiving" me, made 
me a sign to be seated, and asked me how I was. 

u I am not ill, but poor Meurice is very bad. 
We cannot succeed in restoring warmth. I am 
afraid his legs are frozen. He thinks a bath would 
do him good. Will you grant him permission to 
go to Mascara ?" 

"He shall go to-morrow." 

" Allow me to accompany him ?" 

" You shall accompany him." 

"You are good, and very generous; you are 
worthy to be a great Sultan. T thank you for 
Meurice and myself." 

" I have another request to make." 

" Speak." 

" We make barley-water for Meurice, but it is 
not agreeable to the taste — it is not sweetened. A 
sick man is difficult to please. When we suffer, 
we feel a disgust for every thing. Will you allow 
me a little sugar ?" 

"Yes." 

Abd-el-Kader made a sign. Ben-Faka gave me 
about half-a-pound of white sugar. I thanked the 
Sultan; flew with joy to carry it to my poor in- 
valid, and to announce to him he should next day 
go to take a bath at Mascara. 



CHAPTER XV. 



We go to Mascara.— Toussis, Doctor of the Sultan's Troops.— 
Vapour Bath. — Kindness of Mardulin. — A Barber cups 
Meurice. — Mons. Lanternier. — Horrible Seclosion. — Com- 
plaints, Supplications. — Return to the Camp. — I fall sick. 
— Presents for the Emperor of Morocco. — ■ The Young 
Lions, the Panthers. — A Tame Lioness.— The Little Cabin 
Boy in the Camp. — Meurice delirious. — Abd-el-Kader re- 
fuses my Entreaties, and opposes Meurice's Departure for 
Oran. 

Abd-el-Kader had placed one of his baggage 
mules at our disposal. We seated Meurice upon 
it, and the negro Hassen, who followed us every- 
where, mounted behind him, and held him in his 
arms, the invalid being too weak to support himself 
on horseback. I took the mule by the bridle, and 
we set off at a slow pace towards Mascara. 

The Sultan had sent with us the doctor of his 
forces, named Toussis; he had studied medicine 
at Tunis, and for years had charge of the sick in 
the camp. 

This doctor was not clever ; and I obtained, on 
this occasion, a proof of his inexperience. Toussis 
conducted us to the baths at Mascara. The house 
in which they are arranged formerly belonged to 
Abd-el-Kader ; but since the expedition of the 
French as far as Mascara, he has granted them to 
the city ; preserving the right for himself and at- 
tendants to make use of them without paying. 



VAPOUR BATH. 



169 



I entered the heated room with Meurice and un- 
dressed him, for he was not able himself to make 
the least movement. I was preparing to undress 
myself, and take a bath, but the dirt and unpleasant 
odour of the place turned me from my resolution. 
Meurice, who hoped to recover his health, was 
not so difficult to please. I left him, and went to 
walk in the town. I asked the permission of the 
Kait of Mascara to see M. Lanternier, but my 
request was refused. I experienced great disap- 
pointment when I heard the unsuccess of my de- 
mand. Hassen perceived my sadness, and asked 
me the cause. "The Kait will not allow me to 
visit M. Lanternier." " Remain here," replied he, 
"I will run round the town, and inquire of the 
inhabitants where his prison is situated. If I suc- 
ceed in discovering it, I will endeavour to bring 
you to him." 

I promised Hassen to wait for him. He went 
away. I seated myself in the sun, in the corner 
of an open space before a mosque. I had amused 
myself about an hour in watching the passers by, 
when I remembered Meurice would be waiting for 
me, as he could not dress himself. I returned to 
the bath, where I found Meurice in the stove, in 
the greatest distress. The Arabs would not cham- 
poo him, and this refusal rendered the vapour bath 
useless. Fortunately, Jean Mardulin, one of the 
deserters I had met on my arrival at the camp of 
Abd-el-Kader, chanced to be in the bath. He had 
heard the complaints and groans of Meurice, 
had immediately hastened to his assistance, and 
i 



170 



CHAPTER XV. 



had chainpooed him as well as he was able. The 
Arabs, whose duty it was to attend at the batn, 
had refused to champoo him also, although a 
deserter, for fear of defiling themselves by touching 
a Christian. We had the greatest difficulty in the 
world in making Meurice comprehend that every 
Christian in his situation would have met the same 
refusal. 

I went out, overcome with the heat of the stove, 
leaving Mardulin to dress Meurice, and went in 
search of the doctor, Toussis, who was to bleed 
the patient. On reaching the open space, I entered 
a house that Hassen had pointed out as the hos- 
pital of the town, and of which Toussis has the 
charge. I entreated the doctor to follow me, and 
visit Meurice, who desired to be bled. Toussis 
brought with him a barber, who spoke Spanish very 
well. We explained to him the object of our visit ; 
he took his washhand basin, his razor, a glass, some 
fire, and paper, and followed us to the bath. 

Mardulin, after having dressed Meurice, had 
polled round his body three carpets, which the 
Sultan had given us for that purpose. 

The barber shaved the nape of the sick man's neck, 
made several jags with his razor, and placed under 
a glass a few pieces of lighted paper. The blood 
immediately flowed freely, and Meurice found, him- 
self a little relieved by the application of the cup- 
ping-glass. Toussis, during the operation, watched 
the motions of the barber with great attention, and 
seemed rather to study and take a lesson in prac- 
tical surgery, than assist at an operation of which 



MEURICE IS CUPPED. 



171 



he had entrusted the execution to one of his assist- 
ants; thinking it of so little importance as not to 
be worth his while applying his care and talents 
to it. 

They warned us that we must leave the stove ; 
for the hour of the women's bathing was near (the 
morning is set apart for the men, the afternoon for 
the women). Mardulin and I enveloped Meurice 
from head to foot in the carpets, and carried him 
to the hospital. We arranged every thing we had 
at our disposal, so that he might lie down and 
sleep until the hour fixed for our return to the 
camp. I was very hot in the bathing-house ; the 
cold struck me on leaving it. When Meurice had 
closed his eyes, I returned to the open space, and 
laid myself on the ground, and among the Arabs 
* who passed and stopped before me, I perceived 
Hassen, who made me a sign with a mysterious 
air to follow him. I rose and drew near to him. 

" Come with me," said he, /'I know M. Lan- 
tern ier's prison." 

We crossed the space, and stopped before a 
house, the door of which was open. 

" He is here" said Hassen, withdrawing; "act 
with prudence, for the Kait has refused you per- 
mission to see the prisoner. If they should dis- 
cover you prowling around the prison, you will be 
beaten." 

I have said that the outer door w r as open. The 
walls were from a foot and a half to two feet thick. 
A second door, an iron grating, closing the room 
in which the Arab prisoners were confined, gave 



172 



CHAPTER XV. 



air and light to this narrow cell. Between these 
two doors, in an embrasure formed in the wall, I 
saw a man covered with rags, thin, pale, of a mi- 
serable appearance, crouched on the earth. The 
disorder and filth of his tattered garments, the 
dejection and insensibility expressed on all this 
person, revealed the dreadful misfortunes and un- 
heard-of tortures he had endured. His eyes still 
retained a certain vivacity, and they shone in the 
midst of the obscurity like those of a wild beast 
enclosed in a cage. 

I drew near, and recognised M. Lanternier. A 
mournful exclamation escaped my mouth ; the 
prisoner turned his head. 

" Fear nothing ; it is a friend who comes to visit 
you. I am a prisoner of Abd-el-Kader ; I am a 
Frenchman ; I am called France." 

" Lieutenant ?" 

" Yes, Monsieur." 

" Oh ! my good sir, I have often heard speak 
of you ; I also know your sad condition." The 
unfortunate man raised himself with difficulty, and 
resumed, 

" You wish to bring consolation to a poor un- 
happy being, deserted by all the world. I have 
heard of you a thousand and a thousand times. 
The sight of you alone does me more good than 
the sun, when it comes to warm this benumbed 
body upon the damp earth." 

" Meurice has related to me how you fell into 
the hands of the Arabs. Where were you before 
coming here ?" 



HONS. LANTERNIER. 



173 



* At Droma. They would not put me in the 
same prison with my wife and child. One day 
some horsemen made me leave my prison, and 
were about to conduct me beyond the walls of 
Droma. I entreated them to let me remain 
near my wife and child ; they struck me. Tears, 
supplications, nothing could move them. If you 
saw me when I passed through the Sultan's camp 
(I made a sign in the affirmative), you must have 
perceived upon my body the marks of the cruel 
treatment to which I had been exposed during my 
journey. The Sultan had pity upon me ; but the 
chaous changed his good disposition by false re- 
ports. They pretended I wished to escape; I was 
guilty of having wept — of having endeavoured, 
by my entreaties and tears, to remain near my wife 
and child. The Sultan ordered me to be confined 
in the prison of this city. 

" My prison is horrible. During the night, 
when the outer door is closed, I run the risk of 
being suffocated by the dreadful exhalations which 
come from the room of the other prisoners, from 
which I am only separated by this iron grating. 
The prison is only swept out every eight days; 
the filth becomes collected, and infects the air with 
pestilential miasmas. I am very cold, both night 
and day. 

" The only food they give me is, in the morning a 
barley-cake, and in the evening a handful of boiled 
barley. I should long ago have died of hunger, 
but for the assistance of that good Mardulin, whom 
I had known at Droma. This excellent man brings 



174 



CHAPTER XV. 



me white bread every day, and fills my snuff-box 
with tobacco. This last attention pleases me the 
most, for I would at any time give a barley-cake 
for a little tobacco. God has sent him in the midst 
of my adversity to soothe my sufferings, and afford 
me some little consolation. Mardulin has deserted ; 
but his humanity, his disinterested and generous 
conduct, renders him more worthy to return to the 
ranks of his regiment, than the most glorious ac- 
tion performed on the field of battle. 

" Do you return to the camp ? Do me the kind- 
ness to entreat Abd^el-Kader to allow some relief 
to a poor prisoner. I am old, I am ill ; for pity's 
sake, ask him to place me in his camp, and unite 
me with the other Christians." 

"I promise you to speak to the Sultan. I hope 
he will in some degree ameliorate your condition. 
I also am unfortunate ; my title as prisoner is a 
pledge for the interest you inspire me with. Cou- 
rage, Monsieur! I am going away, for the sentinel 
begins to be suspicious and uneasy at my presence. 
I will return to see you soon, and hope on that 
day to take you with me to sleep in our tent." 

I departed, my heart pierced with grief at the 
mournful spectacle of such great misery, and of that 
man, enclosed like a beast in a cold narrow cell ; the 
long tale of his sufferings, interrupted by tears and 
groans, which had just resounded in my ears, the 
unnecessary and barbarous severity, which perhaps 
also awaited myself, excited in my breast lively 
anguish and painful emotion. 

This moral suffering, together with the cold I 



RETURN TO THE CAMP. 



175 



had felt on leaving the bathing-house, made me un- 
well: I could scarcely walk. Hassen, assisted by 
Mardulin, placed Meurice upon the mule, and we 
returned to the camp. On the way, I dragged 
myself along ; I tottered at every step ; and was 
obliged, several times, to seat myself on the ground. 

The next morning, on awakening, I was as ill 
as Meurice; my legs were frozen; I suffered vio- 
lent pain in my head, and could not hold myself 
up. Bourgeois lavished every attention upon us, 
and his attachment suggested a thousand remedies 
by which our sufferings were a little alleviated, 
without always, at the same time, improving our 
health. 

I entreated Ben-Faka to tell the Sultan that I 
wished to speak to him. Bourgeois and Fleury 
assisted me in dragging myself to the tent of Abd- 
el-Kader. 

" Meurice and I shall die of cold," said I to 
him, " if you do not give us more clothing. Meu- 
rice can walk no longer ; I am in quite as deplor- 
able a condition." 

Ben-Faka replied, " Abd-el-Kader, give these 
two Christians a haick and a carpet." On the 2d 
November, some Arabs brought from Mascara 
three of the frames which serve to sustain the 
haicks over the panniers of the mules, and used 
by the Moors to conceal their women from view 
when on a journey. We learnt that they were 
intended to convey the four females, Madame 
and Mademoiselle Lanternier, and the two Ger- 
mans, who were at Droma, during their journey; 



CHAPTER XV. 



and whom Abd-el-Kader intended sending as a 
present to Mouley-Abd-el-Rachimn, Emperor of 
Morocco. 

Besides these three frames, they had also made 
three boxes, which were to serve in transporting 
five wild beasts they were also sending to Mo- 
rocco, together with some ostriches, and which, 
with the four women and some carpets, would 
complete the magnificent present of the Sultan. 

During our stay at Teknefil, some Arabs had 
brought to the camp two young lion cubs and two 
young panthers. The care of these animals was 
entrusted to a chaou, of the tribe of Atlas, the 
inhabitants of which district apply themselves 
exclusively to the chace and the trade in skins. 
The young lioness had not as yet any teeth. They 
placed them every evening in the midst of a herd 
of goats. An Arab laid a goat on the ground, and 
presented its teats to the cubs, which threw them- 
selves upon their nurse, and sucked her vora- 
ciously. A quarter of mutton was thrown to the 
panthers, which they devoured with rage, but care 
was taken to cut it in two parts, otherwise they 
would have fought to obtain possession of the 
whole. The young lions were very quiet, and 
allowed themselves to be played with. The little 
panthers were irritable and wicked ; they bit and 
scratched the Aralps who attempted to caress them. 

A year previously they had brought a young- 
lioness to Mascara, and had built a hut for her in 
the out-skirts of the town. She ran about the 
streets of Mascara the whole day, at full liberty. 



PRESENT FOR THE EMPEROR OF MOROCCO. 177 

The children played with her, mounted upon her 
back, pulled her by the tail, attempted to turn her 
over, and wrestled with her. She allowed hersejf 
to be teased without roaring ; and amused herself 
in playing with the children, and biting without 
ever hurting them. A few days ago she was brought 
to the camp, and the Arabs played with her as 
they would have played with a dog. 

The chaous, who took care of the animals, often 
asked us if we had any like them in our country. 

" In our country," replied Fleury, with all the 
assurance of a trooper, " there are lions, tigers, 
panthers, and many other beasts of this kind, which 
run over the country in troops. They are more 
numerous than sheep, and more docile than 
horses." 

The Arabs stared with astonishment. 

Ben-Faka, while they were fastening the five 
wild beasts and the three ostriches in their cages, 
watched over the slaves who were packing up a 
magnificent carpet, embroidered in silk and gold, 
that Abd-el-Kader had taken from a tribe in the 
neighbourhood of the Ouet-Mina, two bernous, 
one of red and the other of blue cloth, and some 
carpets of less value, carried off by the horsemen 
from Kaala, on the last encampment of the Sultan, 
under the walls of that town. 

Four horses, four mules, two chests of silver, 
augmented and enriched Abd-el-Kader's present 
to the Emperor of Morocco. 

They placed the boxes, the bales, and the cages 
upon mules. They fixed the frames, and I felt a 
i 2 



178 



CHAPTER XV. 



contraction of the heart when the convoy set out, 
and I saw the mules move away, carrying the 
frames, under which were concealed the four women, 
and who counter-balanced the cages in which the 
ferocious animals were roaring. 

Abd-el-Kader went every evening to his wife's 
tent, and returned to the camp at day-break. 

Since the robbery of Zaka, Ben-Faka and Ben- 
About slept alternately in the Sultan's tent. One 
morning, Abd-el-Kader brought the little Italian 
cabin boy, Benedicto, to the camp, who for seve- 
ral months had dwelt in the women's camp. This 
poor child had a beautiful face, and was very intel- 
ligent. The Arab females had treated him very 
well, but still they had left him without any other 
clothing than the shirt he wore at the time of his 
capture. 

He amused himself with the Arab children. He 
had completely forgotten his mother, his country ; 
and when we asked him v where is your mother ? 
He pointed to the women's camp. He already 
spoke Arabic better than Italian ; and when we 
questioned him about religion, he replied he was 
a Mahometan. 

He recited the prayer of the Arabs very well. 
The soldiers of the camp caressed him a good deal, 
and took him to their tents ; there they made him 
recite the Mussulman prayer. If a fresh Arab 
came in, they said to him, 

" Tell the little Christian to recite the prayer of 
the Arabs/' 

And it often happened that the child was com- 



THE CABIN BOY BENEDICTO. 179 

pelled to repeat it fifteen or twenty times suc- 
cessively. 

Notwithstanding the care which we bestowed 
upon our little companion in misfortune, he never 
ceased regretting the women and the children 
among whom he had lived so long ; and he was 
constantly asking us to send him to his mother, 
whom he had left down yonder — and he pointed 
to the women's camp. 

Meurice's health and mind grew from bad to 
worse. I learnt that the Sultan intended raising 
the camp on the 26th, and proceeding in the di- 
rection of Tlemcen. I sent to ask Abd-el-Kader 
permission to speak to him, and obtained it without 
difficulty. 

" How do you do ?" said the Sultan to me, with 
a smile. 

" I am very ill, as you see. I cannot walk. They 
have been obliged to carry me here." 
" What do you wish ?" 

" I should not be obliged to tell you what I 
wish. I have a pain in my head, my legs are 
frozen, I suffer from cold ; I am in a piteous state. 
Why do you not grant some alleviation to my 
misery ? But it is not of myself I wish to speak. 
Meurice's state is most alarming. The unfortunate 
man has half his body frozen. All his blood has 
flowed to his head. Every morning, when I awake, 
I find him suffering under an attack of violent 
delirium. He tells me he has travelled in the sub- 
marine regions of Greenland — that he has passed 
over railways on ice. But these details will not 



180 



CHAPTER XV. 



interest you" much. The only cause of his deli- 
rium is the cold to which he is exposed. We can- 
not succeed in warming him. I entreat, Abd-el- 
Kader, send Meurice to Oran. I promise you the 
General will send four prisoners as his ransom. 
On seeing Meurice arrive, all the French army 
will praise your confidence, goodness, and gene- 
rosity. I entreat you, Abd-el-Kader, send Meu- 
rice to Oran." 

"No ! besides, if he is ill, it will be better for 
him to remain here ; rest will re-establish his 
health. » 

" Rest will re-establish his health ! What are 
you saying ? Repose upon the damp and cold 
earth, with the wind and the rain, which penetrate 
our tent, — for an invalid, it is death. The joy of 
his return, the attention Meurice will be sur- 
rounded with at Oran, will infallibly cure the 
unhappy man. Let him depart." 

"No !" 

" You will not understand me ? Meurice is 
half dead. If he remains here eight days longer, 
he will not be alive on the ninth. To-morrow he 
will not have sufficient strength to reach Oran. 
And then consider, not only the pity the unfor- 
tunate man ought to inspire you with ; the glory 
and renown you would acquire among your ene- 
mies; but still more, the advantages you would 
derive from Meurice' s departure. You are more 
interested than any one that'he should not die. If 
he returns to Oran, whatever his fate may be, you 
will obtain four Arab prisoners ; if he dies in your 



abd-el-kader's refusal. 181 

camp, you lose these four prisoners. Abd-el- 
Kader, tell your chaous to take him to Oran." 
"No." 

u What ! you are deaf to my entreaties What ! 
you — so great, so generous, so holy — you know 
not what pity is D They lied, then, when they 
exalted the virtues of Abd-el-Kader." 

"No." 

• " They have lied : for generosity has never en- 
tered into your treatment ; pity has never found a 
place in your heart. Your Arabs write, they are 
treated like sultans at Marseilles ; they have good 
clothing, abundant food, warm beds, excellent cover- 
ing. And when, my limbs frozen, my headburn 
ing, sustained in the arms of my companions in 
misfortune, I raise before you my cry of distress, 
when you see the frightful misery, the filthy rags 
which cover my body, you smile and say, — ''Ask, 
you shall have.' 

"I ask not bread, a haick ; I ask the life of a 
prisoner, who moves upon the damp and frozen 
earth in frightful convulsions. I ask his life of 
you. Ask Ben-Faka, and he will tell you — the hour 
of his death approaches, and will soon strike. 

" Grant his life, for pity's sake. 

" You are good: But this poor child — this 
cabin boy ; your wife, they say, has fondled and 
caressed him, but what have you done for him ? 

" You have not thrown a haick, a rag of cover- 
ing over the . body of th*e poor little fellow. They 
brought him to you in a shirt, and for five months 
the child has had no other clothing. 



182 CHAPTER XV. 

" The horsemen are cold, the men half frozen, 
and the child is quite naked ! Where is your 
generosity ? 

"Listen. Misfortune excites the imagination. 
It is difficult to govern the tongue when we think 
ourselves in the right. 

<s I wish not to offend you. You know I have 
always recognised you as a great and generous 
Sultan. We remain in your hands. Do with us 
as you choose, but send away Meurice." 

Abd-el-Kader cast a glance at me, in which was 
expressed contempt and pity. 

There was a moment's silence. 

Then, with his usual smile — 

" Meurice is sick: the journey would kill him. 
You shall not follow my camp. You shall set out 
for Mascara. You shall live in a house where you 
will be well treated, and they shall give you all you 
wish. You shall be well clad. Your stay in the 
city will restore your health. Your exchange will 
soon take place. 

" Ben-Faka, take two haicks and a waistcoat. 
The waistcoat shall be for the child, the haicks for 
Meurice and France. 

" Is the Christian content ? 

« Go." 



CHAPTER XVI. 



We leave the Sultan's Camp. — Ap v rival at Mascara. — The Kait 
gives us a House. — The Interior of the House. — Meurice 
is worse. — The Barber cups me.— Mournful Dispute. — 
Meurice's Death. — Burial. — Attachment of Jean Mar- 
dultn. 

I returned to our tent, overwhelmed with grief. 
The Sultan had just given a cruel contradiction to 
the benevolent intentions we had been pleased 
to endow him with. Meurice had flattered himself 
for a moment with the hope of returning to Oran. 
I had left him tranquil, and almost joyful. The 
unfortunate man, as soon as he saw me, read my 
want of success in my countenance. I did not 
attempt to deceive him by false promises and 
pleasing illusions ; for stern reality, with its train 
of privations and misery, was too near us, and I 
saw it rise before us with all its horrors. 

" He would not allow it V 3 exclaimed Meurice. 

" No." 

" The tiger !" 

" However, if he will not permit us to depart 
for some days, Abd-el-Kader has, at any rate, 
given such orders, that we may at least hope for 
some alleviation." 

" You are strangely deceived as to the intentions 



184 



CHAPTER XVI. 



of this man, whose generosity you praise on every 
opportunity." 

" You are naturally disposed to accuse him." 

" Accuse my executioner !" 

" I know only too well all he has made you 
suffer; but, at all events, he consents to our ex- 
change." 

" When we shall be dead ! Yes, De France, if 
he really desired to restore us to liberty, he would 
begin by restoring us to health and life." 

" Listen to me. You do not yet know the result 
of our conversation." 

" I know it. He will not send us to Oran. We 
shall all die here, and that soon." 

" For the future we shall not follow the camp. 
We shall live in Mascara." 

" It is too late." 

"We shall have a good house. We shall be 
well warmed and well fed, and protected against 
the brutality of the Arabs." 

" It is too late." 

" In the mean time, here are two haicks : one 
for you, the other for me, which assuredly will in 
some plegree assist in protecting us from the cold." 

" It is too late !" 

At these words Meurice concealed his head 
under his haick, stretched himself on the ground, 
and remained plunged in mournful silence and 
complete dejection. 

The whole of the 5th, they were engaged in the 
necessary preparations for the excursion of the 
following day. I thought it far preferable to install 



WE LEAVE THE CAMP. 



185 



ourselves at Mascara this day, rather than wait 
until the morrow, when, at a very early hour, 
the Arabs would strike their camp, to betake our- 
selves to our new residence in the cold and damp 
of the morning. 

I had charged Ben-Faka to entreat Abd-el- 
Kader to grant us this favour. He returned to 
announce to us that the Sultan consented to our 
departure. I hastened to arouse Meurice from his 
despondency. The hope of finding a better fate 
at Mascara, the desire of change, was of advantage 
to him. They brought a mule, upon which we 
placed our invalid. I asked one for myself. 

" Ben-Faka, I cannot walk." 

" You must walk." 

" But you see very well I cannot hold myself up." 
" You must walk." 

u Tell a muleteer to lend me a mule." 
" They have already given one." 
"Yes, for Meurice. But for me ?" 
" You must walk." 
Ben-Faka went away. 

Furious at this refusal, I said to Meurice — "I 
will revenge myself." 

Our tent was not watched. I poured several 
jugs of water into the boxes which contained 
the cartridges. I have the pleasure of believing 
that after so copious a wetting the cartridges which 
were inside will never be of any great service to 
them. 

I had scarcely accomplished my project of re- 
venge, when Ben-Faka re-appeared, bringing with 



186 



CHAPTER XVI. 



him the Kai't of Mascara. This last had the 
charge of escorting us, and we immediately set 
out, together with Fleury, Bourgeois, and the little 
cabin boy, Benedicto. 

We had scarcely passed the limits of the camp, 
than I was obliged to stop, I became so ill, and so 
completely fatigued. The Kait cried to me to 
march on. I rose, I made a few steps, and sank 
again to the ground, for I was no longer able to 
keep my legs. 

The Kait had pity on me ; he ordered Bourgeois 
and Fleury to place me upon the mule, behind 
Meurice. This last still had sufficient strength to 
hold himself on the mule, and he entreated me to 
embrace him with my arms. I, for a moment, 
forgot my weakness and pain. I thought only of 
Meurice, and in seeing him retain some strength, 
and guide his mule without assistance, I could 
not but deplore the obstinacy of Abd-el-Kader, for 
it was evident to me that he was in a state to bear 
the journey to Oran ; and that, if he should sink a 
little later on, his blood would rest on the Sultan's 
head, who had been deaf to all my remonstrances, 
and my warmest supplications. 

We ascended a very steep hill before arriving at 
Mascara. I could not keep my equilibrium. I 
fell from the mule, and reached the town, held, 
rather than supported, by Bourgeois and Fleury. 
The Kait conducted us to the open space, to a 
house, near to that in which he administers justice, 
and announced to us, it was the house we were to 
dwell in. It consisted of a court, which we passed 



INTERIOR OF OUR HOUSE, 



187 



through on entering-, and from which, on the ground 
flour, opened two chambers and a small kitchen, 
the roof of which formed a terrace. 

A staircase outside in the court led to a chamber 
on the first floor. We chose that apartment in pre- 
ference to those on the ground floor, for we thought 
we should be better protected from the damp. 

No furniture of any description decorated the 
interior of the room. Two small windows opened 
into the court, and admitted a little light. The 
door was half broken, and a man could easily 
enter, by bending himself, through a hole at the 
bottom. A board, about three feet broad, fixed in 
the wall, without legs or back, and resembling a 
bad camp bed, seemed intended for us to sleep 
upon. 

The Kait gave us the half of an old tent of 
camel hair, and two carpets, to wrap ourselves in. 
The soldiers had the tent, and Meurice and I the 
carpets. The day after our arrival, when Abd-el- 
Kader had raised the camp, several deserters, not 
wishing to follow him on his new excursion, came 
to Mascara, and lodged themselves in our house, 
to share the bread distributed to us in the morn- 
ing, and the couscoussou brought us in the evening. 
At this time the Sultan's gunners were at Mas- 
cara, where they had been sent to take the cannons 
of the town, and transport them to Tekedemta, 
in order to reinforce the formidable artillery with 
which Abd-el-Kader had supplied the new redoubt. 

Jean Mardulin was anions: these pinners. He 
heard we were at Mascara. This good and attached 



188 



CHAPTER XVI. 



soldier came to see us. He found us so ill, that 
he proposed staying with us and nursing us. We 
accepted his proposition with joy. Still he could 
not be of great service to us, nor procure for us 
the necessaries we stood so much in need of, in 
the pitiable state in which we found ourselves. 
We had neither fire nor clothing. 

Mardulin had collected a small sum of money, 
and generously placed his little savings at our dis- 
posal. We did not make use of this money, for 
we suffered too much to desire more abundant 
nourishment than the Kait furnished us with every 
day. I was satisfied with drinking some fresh 
water, in which I soaked a piece of white bread, 
that Mardulin brought me in the morning. 

Meurice only desired a glass of milk every even- 
ing. We requested some from the Kait. He 
replied he was not able to procure any for himself. 
At the same time, droves of cows, sheep, and goats, 
returned every day to Mascara, and we heard their 
lowing and bleating, both morning and evening, as 
they went to their pasturage or returned. 

Twice only, during Meurice's last sufferings, the 
Kait brought us a little milkin a glass. He as- 
sured us this beverage would be of no service, and 
sent us instead a dish of couscoussou highly spiced. 

Meurice had asked to see Monsieur Lanternier. 
The Kait replied the Sultan had forbidden him to 
allow that prisoner to have any communication 
with us. Mardulin carried some food to this un- 
fortunate man, which we took from our portion, 



MEURICE IS WORSE. 



189 



and reserved for him, with the most scrupulous 
exactitude. 

However, the attentions which Mardulin and 
the other prisoners lavished upon us, our stay in 
a house, where, if we were not protected from the 
cold, we were at least sheltered from the rain, 
produced no improvement in our health. Cold 
was the cause of our sickness, under which all 
of us would inevitably have sunk. We had suffered 
from cold in the tent we inhabited in the camp of 
the Sultan, and we suffered as much from it in 
the house, under the roof of which Abd-el-Kader f 
said we should recover our health. 

I had entirely lost the use of my legs ; I could 
no longer walk ; and every day I felt the pains in 
my head increase in violence. Ten times I en- 
treated the Kait to have me bled ; ten times the 
Kait replied it was a useless operation, for I had 
too little blood. At length, after fresh entreaties, 
he sent to me the barber who had already operated 
upon Meurice. 

The barber applied the cupping-glass to my 
head ; I lost a good deal of blood ; my head-aches 
completely disappeared, and I found myself much 
relieved. The next day I wished to be bled again ; 
for I had experienced so great relief since the ap- 
plication of the cupping-glass, that I wished to 
follow up, by analogous treatment, the complete 
cure of my head-aches. They lanced my arm twice 
without a single drop of blood flowing. As I was 
complaining that my blood was chilled to such a 



190 



CHAPTER XVI. 



degree as not to spurt out after two attempts at 
bleeding, Meurice, in the delirium which agitated 
his mind, obstinately contended that he saw the 
blood flowing. 

A lively dispute arose on this point. It was a 
mournful spectacle : two dying men, stretched 
miserably side by side in the same carpet, using 
the little strength they had left in this strange 
debate ! Death was seated upon our lips ; delirium 
tortured our minds ; grief and disease had cast a 
dull and pale hue in our eyes; we had lost the 
use of half our bodies ; the same misfortune, the 
same misery had befallen us both, and we were 
wrapped in the same carpet, which might, from 
day to day, serve as our funeral dress ; and still 
we wasted the last moments we had to pass in this 
world in violent discussion ! At the moment we 
ought to have embraced and bid each other an 
eternal adieu, we had forgotten our ills, our end, 
which was so rapidly approaching, our friendship, 
born in the bosom of misfortune, to engage in a 
quarrel! The remembrance causes me bitter re- 
flections. The approach of death ought to have 
calmed our irritation, and given place to a perfect 
serenity, to a calm resembling that of a corpse. 
And nevertheless, we laboured under a moral con- 
vulsion. 

Our condition was too grievous and too critical ; 
I cut short the debate; I agreed with Meurice, 
and there was no longer a subject for dispute. 

On the 12th, in the morning, the weather was 
dreadful, the rain fell in torrents, and we suffered 



HIS DEATH. 



191 



as usual from cold and damp. We drew closer to 
each other, and mutually sought to warm ourselves. 

Meurice stretched his hand towards me. I 
seized it. 

u How do you find yourself?" said I to him. 

" I am no better. I am cold." 

" Draw nearer. Take my haick." 

" All these precautions are useless." 

" How ? You are still strong. Your robust 
constitution should still inspire you with hope." 

" I do not suffer so much as yesterday, but I 
feel I shall not live long. I have told you that all 
these endeavours to re-establish my health are too 
late. France, if I die, as I feel a mournful pre- 
sentiment I shall, take care of my journal, which I 
have to this day concealed from the eyes of the 
Arabs ; it is my only property ; the sole inheritance 
your unhappy companion in misfortune can be- 
queath you in his last hour. You are young, you 
will not allow yourself to sink under adversity: 
you will return to Algiers, you will see my wife. 
Dear Clarissa ! tell her how I loved her ! tell her 
that her remembrance has never been effaced from 
my heart. My friend I" 

On concluding these words, Meurice concealed 
his head under his haick. For half an hour he 
uttered neither a sigh nor a groan : he seemed to 
sleep. I stretched my hand towards him and 
seized his arm. 

" How do you find yourself ? Are you still cold ?" 

He did not answer. 

I raised myself, and uncovered his head. 



192 



CHAPTER XVI. 



He was dead ! 

* * *• # # 

I immediately called the other prisoners. 

"My friends," said I to them, in a trembling 
voice, and my eyes suffused with tears, " Merurice 
did not hear me when I spoke to him just now, I 
fear he has ceased to breathe. See if I am not 
deceived." 

They drew near the corpse, and after an atten- 
tive examination they all cried, 
" He is dead !" 

I sank back, and remained plunged in profound 
consternation. For four hours all the prisoners in 
the room remained silent and motionless. The 
dead body of Meurice was by my side. I wept 
long over the friend whom I had found in the 
midst of adversity. 

My thoughts separated themselves by degrees 
from this picture of misery and death, which for 
three months had been constantly before my eyes, 
and I turned them to a better world, towards a 
Supreme Being, into whose bosom Meurice's spirit 
had already flown. I said to myself, 

" Since it was the will of God to call to him a man 
tried by so many sufferings, it was he that judged 
his punishment should have an end, and a recom- 
pense. I weep not on account of the unfortunate 
man whose body is by my side, but from the recol- 
tion of his friendship, his attachment, and the 
sufferings he has endured. Now I am alone, pur- 
suing my fatal existence among my enemies. 

" My God ! I suffer the same pain which hastened 



BURIAL. 



193 



the death of my friend. My time will come soon. 
Grant me strength to support the trying hour with 
courage. You will console my aged father : hope 
has already visited him ; he awaits me. If the 
child returns to his father no more, O my God, 
strengthen his mind to bear the cruel separation. 
May the son and daughter who still remain to 
him relieve the bitterness of old age by their love 
and attention." 

I will not repeat all the reflections which crowded 
on my mind. At such a moment, silence and 
thought are holy things. We must know how to 
respect the pale and silent death which rests under 
the same carpet in which we are wrapped. 

Night had arrived. We had acquired the sor- 
rowful conviction that our companion had ceased 
to live ; the motionless state of his body, and the 
livid paleness of his countenance, sufficiently indi- 
cated it to us. We summoned the Kait, ancj 
informed him of the death of Meurice. The corpse 
showed him the justice of our complaints, and the 
necessity of admitting them, if he did not wish to 
reply, when the Sultan should demand an account 
of the prisoners committed to his charge, u I have 
them not ; death has carried them off." He gave 
orders to light a fire. One day sooner Meurice 
might have been saved. 

In the middle of the evening, Bourgeois and 
Mardulin undressed Meurice, and, after having 
rolled the body in a carpet, carried it to the other 
corner of the room. They gave me the dress of 
the deceased. The vermin which were attached to 

K 



194 



CHAPTER XVI. 



the haick were so numerous and so thick, that, 
when placed against the wall, it stood upright, like 
a board. However, misery and suffering had de- 
stroyed, by degrees, all sensibility, both moral and 
physical. I took his clothing and wrapped myself 
in it, and became much warmer. 

On the afternoon of the following day, Mardulin 
and Bourgeois, assisted by two Jews ordered by 
the Kait, carried the dead body away. 

I felt deep emotion on seeing them depart — all 
was finished. 

A few paces from the boundaries of Mascara, 
on the road to the village El-Borgj, Mardulin and 
his three companions dug a grave. They sewed 
the corpse in a piece of a bad haick, and laid it 
in the ground. Such were the only funeral cere- 
monies. 

During the night which followed his interment 
the weather was terrific. The rain never ceased 
falling in abundance, and the wind blew violently. 
Nevertheless, at sunrise, an Arab came to announce 
to the Kait that the body of the Christian was half 
out of the earth. In spite of the severity of the 
weather, the Arabs had disinterred the dead body, 
and had stolen the piece of the haick in which 
Meurice had been sewed. It was not wild beasts 
who had dug up the inanimate remains of the 
Christian, for they found no teeth marks on his 
body ; but the marks of the mattocks were visible, 
which the robbers had used to accomplish their 
purpose. 

The Kait pretended to be angry, and assured us 



ATTACHMENT OF JEAN MARDULIN. 195 



he would punish the robbers; but he never at- 
tempted to rind them out. 

Mardulin immediately ran, through a heavy rain 
and furious tempest, to the spot where he had 
buried Meurice on the preceding evening. He 
enlarged the grave and replaced the body of our 
unfortunate companion, who, after having endured 
during his life all the torments the Arabs had it 
in their power to inflict, was not even secure after 
death from the brutal and ferocious passions of 
these barbarians. 

When Mardulin had finished his pious task., and 
had announced to me that he had replaced the 
corpse in its grave, 

" Mardulin," said I to him, "you are a brave 
and worthy man. I thank you for what you have 
done; you will be recompensed for it sooner or 
later. I am very ill ; I, also, shall soon die. 

w You will bury me, too, will you not ? 

a But I do not wish to be disinterred ; do not put 
anything round my body. You will dig a grave suf- 
ficiently deep, and cover me with earth and stones. 
Do not spare the stones. I wish the Bedouins 
not to come to look for me, and that I may be 
left in peace. 

u Do you hear me, my friend P I only ask that 
of you." 

" Lieutenant, you will not die ; then" 

« But if I should die ?" 

" I will obey you. But you will not die, on 
my word of honour ; and you will see if Mar- 
dulin is not risht !" 



CHAPTER XVII. 



Monsieur Lanternier is united to the other Christian Pri- 
soners. — Treatment pursued in my Disease. — A Letter from 
General Rapatel. — Fleury goes to read it to the Sultan. — 
Four New Prisoners. — Thirty Beni-Amers. — Two are hung. 
— Trows ers.— History of the Four Prisoners. — Madame Lau- 
rent. — Death of Madame Laforet. — Misery of the Chris- 
v tians. — Journey to Mascara. — Mardulin imports Drugs 

WHICH HE SELLS TO THE ARABS. — CONVERSATIONS. — PROJECTS 

for a Fete. — A Poor Negro. — Heads of Fourteen Spahis 
before our door.— supper. — watching. — tales.— -return of 
the Italian Fishermen. — Account of their Life at Teke- 
demta. — Death of one of their Companions. — The Little 
Cabin Boy.— Departure from Mascara. 

Abd-el-Kader, on the intelligence of Meurice's 
death, gave positive orders that every thing we 
required should be given to us. The Kait asked 
me what I wished. 

I was so ill I had no desire for any thing. Mar- 
dulin persuaded me I ought to take some soup. 
I entreated the Kait to send me three fowls, and to 
unite Monsieur Lanternier to the other Christians. 
As the Arabs wished to save my life, the Kait sent 
the three fowls, and delivered Monsieur Lanternier 
from his prison. 

It is difficult to paint his joy. He conversed 
with me long on his happiness and thankfulness, 
and after inquiring into my condition, said, 

" After the service you have rendered me, my 



MONSIEUR LANTERN1ER JOINS US. 



197 



good Sir, I do not wish you to die. In obtaining 
from the Kait permission for me to join you, you 
have given me more than half a life. You shall not 
die. I practised medicine in my village of Adel- 
Ibrahim. I have often been consulted. I have 
always cured my sick ; and although I have not 
gone through my course of degrees, I know suffi- 
cient to save you." 

By rubbing my legs and feet with a piece of 
woollen cloth for several days, he succeeded, by 
tearing away the epidermis, in producing a slight 
colour; that was all he desired. 

Mardulin and Bourgeois heated bricks and ap- 
plied them burning to my legs. Once they even 
placed an iron nail, red hot, upon my feet. T saw 
my skin burning, but felt no pain. At last, thanks 
to the repeated rubbings, and the burning bricks, 
my blood revived ; I began to recover a little ; 
I moved my legs, but was not able to walk. 

The Sultan, during this time, was encamped to 
the south of Oran, in a spot where several Mara- 
bouts and warm springs are situated ; and where 
the remains of aqueducts for baths are still visible. 
On setting out from Mascara, he had sent Milloud- 
Ben-Harrach with his horsemen to Miliana, to 
collect the imposts from the Hadjoutis and the 
surrounding tribes. He intended going in person, 
in the month of September, among the Hadjoutis, 
but the revolt of the Beni-Flitas, and the check he 
received on giving them battle, had prevented his 
putting this project into execution. I leamt that 
the courier from Miliana had arrived, with letters 



198 



CHAPTER XVII. 



from Algiers, and had presented himself to the 
Kai't. Bourgeois and Mardulin carried me in their 
arms as far as the threshold of the Kai't's house. 
Nothing but a moment of so great interest could 
have determined me on having myself dragged thus 
across the open square of Mascara. 

The Ka'it had pity on my deplorable condition, 
and addressed to me several words full of kindness. 
He told me the courier had a letter from Algiers, 
which, without doubt, would lead to my deliver- 
ance. I asked to see the letter, and as soon as I 
recognised the seal of General Rapatel, I expe- 
rienced a joy, a happiness, impossible for me to 
describe. 

But I again fell into a lively anxiety when the 
Kai't told me he could not open the letter, that he 
must immediately send it to the Sultan, and that 
Fleury should accompany the courier to read it, 
since my weakness and sickness would not permit 
me to endure the fatigue of the journey. 

At the moment the courier from Miliana was 
setting out, we saw four fresh prisoners arrive : a 
coionist, Monsieur Pic, his servant (a German, and 
an old huntsman), a soldier, and Madame Laurent, 
a camp follower. 

Monsieur Pic's servant, who had been wounded 
by a ball, remained at Mascara. The Ka'it sent 
the three companions in misfortune, with the cou- 
rier and Fleury, before the Sultan. 

I was much distressed at not being able to go 
myself to read the letter from the General to Abd- 
el-Kader, for I feared that Fleury might not ex- 



FOUR NEW PRISONERS. 



199 



plain it well, and confuse our affairs. I recom- 
mended him above all things to request the Sultan 
to exchange the four new prisoners for the four 
Arab prisoners who were to have been given up 
to ransom Meurice. 

On the 18th, thirty Beni-Amers, men, women, 
and children, arrived at Mascara, loaded with chains. 
These unfortunate men, fatigued with the disasters 
of the war, and the ruin and desolation it had brought 
upon them, were journeying to Oran to place them- 
selves under the protection of the French. They 
had been stopped on the way, by the Arab troops 
who were going to pitch their camp to the south 
of that city, and brought back captives. 

Abd-el-Kader, wishing to make an example, and 
in the hope of intimidating the weak and irresolute, 
condemned the principal chiefs of this band to be 
hung. They expired in horrible convulsions at 
the gates of Mascara; the remainder were thrown 
into prison. 

Fleury and the prisoners returned to Mascara, 
with a soldier named Devienne, captured in the 
neighbourhood of Tlemsen. The Arabs who es- 
corted them, at the moment of their entering the 
camp of Abd-el-Kader, had ordered the Christians 
to take off the haicks which the Bey of Miliana 
had distributed among them ; for, as they said, 
Aiey must present themselves before the Sultan in 
the Christian dress. The prisoners obeyed, but 
they never recovered their haicks ; the Arabs had 
robbed them of them. 

Abd-el-Kader, after having interrogated them, 



200 



CHAPTER XVII. 



and recompensed the Arabs who had brought them, 
gave two small pieces of coin to each, and told 
them to fear nothing ; that they should suffer no 
bad treatment. Fleury read the letter. The Gover- 
nor granted the fifteen Arab prisoners for the 
six we were in number when I wrote. Abd-el-Ka- 
der dismissed him with the promise of immediately 
sending us all to Algiers. 

The chief who had escorted Fleury brought an 
order to the Ka'it to dress us anew in red breeches 
and haicks. Only one piece of cloth w 7 as to be 
found in all the magazines of the Sultan. The 
Ka'it gave it to me, granting me the favour of 
fashioning it into trowsers instead of breeches. 
Devienne, who had worked at Tlemsen with a 
tailor, set to work to cut out the breeches. The 
piece only made three pair. Bourgeois, who before 
entering into the army was a carpenter, undertook 
to sew my trowsers. 

The Ka'it, on retiring, announced to us that we 
should set out for Algiers as soon as the two 
Italians/ Crescenso and Francesco, who were at 
Tekedemta, and whom he was about to send for, 
should have joined us at Mascara. 

The little cabin boy had quitted us some time 
before. He had taken refuge with the Kait's wife, 
and passed the clay in playing with the children in 
the square. He sometimes came at meal hours td 
eat with us. 

The positive assurance the Ka'it had just given 
us of our approaching departure for Algiers, caused 



HISTORY OF THEIR CAPTURE. 



201 



a general joy. I, however, was still suffering se- 
verely, and not yet able to walk. 

In the evening, when we were, together in our 
room, I entreated the four new prisoners to relate 
how they had fallen into the power of the Arabs. 

They had not been taken together. Monsieur 
Pic was engaged with his servant in loading 
sand in the neighbourhood of Boufarick for a 
building he had commenced in that city. Some 
Arabs ran towards them, crying in their lan- 
guage, "Go, go!" The two Christians thought 
the Arabs friendly disposed, and were warning 
them to fly from some threatened danger. The 
servant ran as fast as he could in the direction of 
the town ; Monsieur Pic was preparing to follow ; 
the Arabs perceiving they did not take the direc- 
tion they wished, fired at them, and wounded the 
servant in the thigh. They obtained possession 
of the two fugitives, loosed the horse from the 
cart, made them mount, and conducted them to 
the Bey of Miliana, who at this time was with 
the Hadj otitis. v # 

The soldier had been to a fete at a house near 
Boufarick. On his return he was tipsy, and was 
surprised by the Arabs, who led him to a tribe 
situated near the Tomb of the Christian, a funeral 
monument, which encloses the remains of a Queen 
of Spain. 

Madame Laurent, in company with another camp 
follower, Madame Laforet, was going to Mahelma 
to see her husband ; they were stopped by some 
k 2 



202 



CHAPTER XVII. 



Arab horsemen, and taken to the tribe of the Tomb 
of the Christian. 

During" two months' stay in this tribe, where the 
soldier was also, with whom they would never 
allow them to communicate, these two women 
were exposed to every species of barbarous treat- 
ment. Madame Laforet soon sunk under her suf- 
ferings and her despair: Madame Laurent obtained 
possession of her tattered dress, which assisted in 
protecting her from the cold. Still she must at 
last have experienced the same fate as Madame 
Laforet, if the chief of her tent had not allowed her 
some relief. His son was a prisoner at Algiers, 
and he was in hopes of exchanging him for his 
captive. The conditions of exchange were not ac- 
cepted. Madame Laurent became worse ; and her 
master sold her to an Arab of a neighbouring tribe. 
She remained two months in the tent of her new 
master, sick all the time, and in the deepest de- 
spair. The Arab, rinding she could not work, de- 
cided on taking her to the Bey of Miliana. The 
soldier had fallen sick, he could not continue his 
work, and his master conducted him also to the 
Bey of Miliana. 

M. Pic and his servant, Madame Laurent, and 
the soldier were taken to Abd-el-Kader. On the 
way they had to endure the abuse and the blows 
of the Arabs. On their arrival at Mascara, these 
prisoners were in a state of filth and misery im- 
possible to describe. Madame Laurent's hair was 
very long and covered with vermin ; Fieury cut it 



MANNNER OF PASSING OUR TIME. 203 



close, and with the money the Sultan had given 
her she bought a comb. 

The Kait had her taken to his wives, according 
to Abd-el-Kader's orders, but we soon saw her re- 
turn to our room in anger. The Arab females had 
insulted her, and the unfortunate woman was com- 
pelled to return to us, to escape the cruelty of these 
termagants. 

In order to know the character of all the prison- 
ers, and how we employed our time at Mascara, I 
will relate how we passed our long days of cap- 
tivity in that town. 

At day-break, Mardulin gave the signal to 
awake. He lighted the fire, and while Bourgeois 
was heating the bricks and my draught, he went for 
provisions. Ffe always bought with what money 
he could save, eggs, dried figs, white bread, and 
snuff for Monsieur Lanternier. The Ka'iVs negro 
slave brought some bread for each prisoner; they 
re-warmed the couscoussou of the preceding evening 
in a tin pot, the only one we had at our disposal ; 
and whilst my companions were breakfasting on 
this couscoussou, I eat an egg and some Barbary 
figs. 

After breakfast, each in his turn cleaned the 
house. 

When the weather was fine, we passed over the 
square, and seated ourselves in the sun on the ter- 
races of the Casbah, a building partly destroyed by 
the French, at the time of their passage through 
this city. 



204 



CHAPTER XVII. 



Monsieur Pic's servant, not being yet recovered 
from his wound, remained alone in the apartment; 
the only thing he had to dress his wound with was, 
some honey and a little cerate, that Mardulin com- 
posed of oil and wax. 

We laid ourselves down on the terrace, and gave 
chase to the vermin. 

One clay, when Bourgeois and Devienne were 
engaged sewing the trowsers, Mardulin seated 
himself near me, while the other .prisoners were 
chatting together at a few paces from us — 

" I hope, Lieutenant/' said Mardulin to me, 
" that when you shall have returned to Algiers, you 
will think of me. You will ask my pardon ?" 

" I promise you that, and I hope I shall easily 
obtain it. The care you have not ceased bestowing 
upon the prisoners, make you worthy of a better 
fate. I owe my life to you ; I will use all my en^ 
deavours with the Governor that you may soon re- 
turn." 

" If the Governor grants me permission to return, 
how will you inform me of it? for Abd-el-Kader 
is desirous of keeping me with him ; and, if he had 
the least suspicion of my wish to return to Algiers, 
I should be closely watched." 

" As soon as I shall have spoken with the Gene- 
ral, I will write you an unimportant letter: if you 
can return, I will place the General's seal at the 
head of the letter If your pardon is not granted, 
which I think very improbable, the seal will be 
placed at the bottom of the letter. Mardulin, 
when you interred our poor friend Meurice, I said 



mardulin's drugs. 205 

your attachment would meet its recompence sooner 
or later. I feel the conviction that you will rejoin 
me at Algiers a few days after my arrival. Until 
then, continue to conduct yourself before the Arabs 
in the same manner as you have done. Be at- 
tentive, obliging; the least change in your actions 
might cause them to suspect, and you would be 
exposed to their restless vigilance. " 

u Lieutenant, I will follow your advice." 

I only gave this advice to Mardulin because I 
knew Abd-el-Kader considered it of importance to 
keep him among the Arabs. Mardulin mixed 
medicines, he was a perfect Maitre Jacques. On 
the morning on which we had thus conversed, 
several Arabs had come to consult him regarding 
violent pains they suffered in their legs and loins. 
He had sold them in vials, a douro each (about 
one hundred sous), my draught of the root of 
patience and dog-grass, prescribing them to drink 
it every two hours, in small spoonsful. He also 
gave them small papers, containing some earth and 
pounded sulphur, to rub their aching limbs; each 
paper sold for a small coin. 

Mardulin sold his powders and his elixirs to 
collect some money, which he employed in reliev- 
ing our misery; whilst the other deserters only 
joined us to share the food they distributed to us 
each day. We had ceased speaking, when we 
were struck by the noise of the conversation of the 
other prisoners. They were conversing of their 
return to Algiers ; they already fancied themselves 
free, even while still clothed in the garb of misery ; 



206 



CHAPTER XVII. 



while lying- stretched in the sunshine killing the 
vermin; while the first Arab that passed abused 
and struck us. My companions in misfortune 
thought only of their return to their country, and 
had forgotten their present miserable condition. 

"I hope/' said Monsieur Pic, "that when we 
pass through Boufarick, on our way to Algiers, you 
will do me the pleasure to stop a short time, and 
breakfast with me. Madame Pic will be much 
flattered by receiving you. The poor woman, how 
happy she will be to see me again ! If the repast 
should be confused, you must not attribute it to in- 
difference, but to the joy my wife will necessarily 
feel; for doubtless she thinks me dead, and my 
appearance will cause her some emotion. We will 
endeavour, however, to give you a good breakfast." 

" Gentlemen," replied Monsieur Lanternier, " I 
must not be behindhand; you will do me the 
honour to dine with me in my village of Adel-Xb- 
rahim. I am old, but to celebrate our deliverance, I 
will take care none shall drink or eat so much as I." 

" Ah, ca !" continued Madame Laurent, " I hope, 
Messieurs, you will not affront me, by not per- 
mitting me to contribute my*share. But first of 
all I wish to know, if we shafl go from Boufarick 
to Algiers in a carriage ?" 

" Ah," replied the deserters, " we v ill have a 
car, upon which you shall mount, and make your 
triumphal entry into Algiers." 

" Silence, Messieurs ! I shall have the honour of 
receiving you at my establishment, and offering 
you a glass of wine. The first and every following 



CONVERSATION. 



207 



day, the celebrated and unfortunate captives of 
the Bedouins shall have the right of drinking, 
gratis, as is allowed on the fete of Louis XVIII. 
in the Champs Elysees. I shall have the honour 
of waiting upon you, and I entreat you to believe 
that my costume shall be more recherchee and 
better attended to than it is to-day, amiable and un- 
fortunate captives of barbarians. " 

" Long life to Madame Laurent \" cried all the 
prisoners. " The amiable captives will all meet 
again at your house in Algiers." 

" And in the evening," resumed Monsieur Lan- 
ternier, " a supper, with a musical accompaniment." 

" I hope, Lieutenant," continued Madame Lau- 
rent, turning to me, "you will deign to honour us 
w r ith your company at dinner." 

" Certainly, Madame." 

" Long life to Madame Laurent !" 

The conversation on these subjects was inter- 
minable. I arose, and proceeded to walk up and 
down the square, leaning on Mardulin's arm. At 
the corner of the square w T e perceived a pastry- 
cook's shop, w r e entered it, and eat a few fritters 
cooked in butter £pd rubbed over with honey, 
which we saw them preparing. We then pro- 
menaded a short time. 

After having shaken our haicks, and beaten 
them to rid ourselves of the vermin with which 
they were covered, we returned to our abode. On 
passing over the square, I saw the Ka'it of the 
town break several sticks, which he hastily snatched 
from the hands of chaous, upon the shoulders of a 



208 



CHAPTER XVII. 



negro attached to the Sultan's service. When he 
was tired with striking, he ordered the chaous to 
administer one hundred blows in addition. The 
fault he had committed sprung from a noble and 
generous feeling. His mother was dying, and he 
desired to be present at her last moments; they 
had refused him the permission of receiving her 
last sigh. He had left the Sultan in spite of his 
prohibition. 

The sufferer did not utter a complaint — a single 
cry, except when the chaous made him leave the 
town, a tear moistened his eyes ; he had not em- 
braced his mother — a passer by had just told him 
she was expiring. 

I entered the house, and dined with Madame 
Laurent on a panado Bourgeois had prepared for 
us. I had scarcely finished, when the report of 
cannon and musquetry fired in Mascara, accom- 
panied by tumultuous shouts, were audible. We 
stood at the threshold of the house. 

A hideous spectacle presented itself to our view. 
Before our dwelling they had placed the heads of 
fourteen Spahis soldiers, surprised and massacred in 
the neighbourhood of Algiers. The uproar which 
had drawn us to the street, was the effect of the in- 
intoxication of delight this horrible spectacle pro- 
duced among the Arabs. The children kicked the 
heads about ; some picked them up and cast them 
against the walls of our house. We entered the 
house deeply afflicted. 

An hour afterwards they placed these heads in 
sacks, and carried them to the camp of the Sultan, 



OUR EVENINGS. 



209 



whose tent they were intended to adorn. This 
scene made me unwell. Mardulin and Bourgeois, 
after a long friction, rolled me up in my carpet. 
When the day began to close, Bourgeois carried 
into our chamber some fire from the kitchen on a 
tile. Some warmed themselves, some smoked, 
others played at cards or chess, with the games I 
had formed at Teknifil. The Kait's slave, with 
his harsh voice, soon announced to us, that it was 
time to go for our couscoussou, and the oil to 
supply our lamp. This lamp was formed of earth, 
and resembled our candlesticks. In the hole in 
which we place the candle they pour the oil, and 
place a small holder, which supports the wick. 
The lamp was placed in an excavation purposely 
formed in the wall. The Doctor Toussis gave us 
the oil. 

Each went in his turn to the house pointed 
out by the Ka'it, the master of which had to pro- 
vide our food, to receive the couscoussou. The 
inhabitants of the town were obliged to furnish us 
with provisions in turn. Before Abd-el-Kader 
.quitted Mascara, his house sufficed for the neces- 
saries of his train and prisoners; since then the in- 
habitants have had the charge of supplying them. 

When we had eaten our couscoussou (the quan- 
tity sent us was sufficiently large, since we break- 
fasted on the remains), we laid ourselves down, 
and entertained ourselves, until sleep visited us, by 
relating tales. 

<( Oh, Monsieur Lanternier, a tale!" cried the 
deserters. 



210 



CHAPTER XVII. 



Monsieur Lanternier immediately related, with 
spirit and facility, histories of robbers or ghosts. 
Most frequently Tom Thumb, the Sleeping Beauty 
in the Wood, amused our wakefulness. These tales 
excited the most lively curiosity, and the greatest 
attention. Madame Laurent also contributed her 
share. The soldier had a good voice, and sang the 
songs of Provence with great taste and skill. 

Sleep at last fell upon us, and silence reigned 
around. 

On the morning of the 24th, the Italian fisher- 
men, Crescenso and Francesco, arrived from Te- 
kedemta. These poor people expressed the most 
lively affection for me ; there were only two of them 
left. Their comrade, Berthoumian, had died at 
Tekedemta; they also found me alone — Meurice 
was no more. They were good and brave sailors ; 
they loved me ; we had long supported together the 
same misfortunes. They seated themselves by my 
side, and Francesco related to me what had hap- 
pened to them since our separation. 

"You know, Lieutenant, what sorrow we felt 
when Ben-Faka separated us from you at the mo- 
ment you was coming to speak to us ; we were still 
ignorant of the fate which awaited us. What was 
our consternation when we took the road to Teke- 
demta ! We thought M. Meurice and you were 
about to be sent to Algiers, and we were to be 
condemned to a perpetual captivity. On our ar- 
rival at Tekedemta, the Arabs employed us in 
carrying the earth and stones necessary for the 
construction of the Casbah ; we suffered every pos- 



RETURN OF THE ITALIAN FISHERMEN. 211 

sible evil. Imagine, Lieutenant, that they set us 
to work at day-break, that they forced us to labour 
until night had fully set in, without allowing us a 
moment's repose, while the other workmen did not 
go to work until after sunrise, retired to rest on its 
setting, and never went out when the weather was 
bad. 

"The only food we had was a small barley 
biscuit in the morning, and a handful of boiled 
barley in the evening. You know what they are 
capable of making a poor Christian undergo, and 
it is useless for me to repeat all the ill treatment 
we endured. 

<f I will mention one case, by which you will 
see how we were treated by the Sultan's orders. 
One evening that we quitted our work rather later 
than usual, they sent us to draw water in the Ouet- 
Mina ; as we were bathing, we were assailed by the 
Arabs, who drove us back to our tent, with heavy 
blows of the stick. 

" In the first moment of our surprise, we forgot, 
while flying from the blows, the two leathern bottles 
we had taken and filled with water ; this forget- 
fulness caused us a cruel punishment ; they not 
only put us in irons for three clays and three nights, 
but they also increased our sufferings by their 
manner of putting them on. Crescenso and I 
were fastened to the same bar, each having a foot 
enclosed in one of the rings, so that neither of us 
could make the least movement, without mutually 
hurting each other. They compelled us to work 
for three days thus chained together. 



212 



CHAPTER XVII. 



" The cold became very severe in the mountains, 
our feet were naked, and this miserable haick our 
only covering. They made us sleep in the open 
air. We lighted a fire during the night, but this 
precaution did not prevent our suffering dreadfully 
from cold ; our companion, Berthoumian, felt ill ; 
he could no longer hold himself on his legs, and 
talked wildly. The Arabs, seeing him in so mi- 
serable a condition, permitted him to sleep in a 
tent. 

" At last, one night, during which it froze, and 
the snow fell thickly, Crescenso and I were seated 
round the fire. Oh ! Lieutenant, I shall never 
forget it ; it was cold enough to crack stones. The 
Arabs called to us, and ordered us to carry Ber- 
thoumian into the open air, for the unfortunate 
man already began to rattle, and they did not 
wish him to heave his last sigh in their tent. 

" We took our poor companion in our arms ; we 
had anger in our hearts, and tears in our eyes; 
we stretched him near the fire, and seated our- 
selves by his side. The snow continued to fall 
thickly ; we brushed, it off as it fell ; but it was so 
cold ! Poor Berthoumian soon died — he was fro- 
zen — we remained by the side of the corpse. Half 
an hour had scarcely elapsed since he had breathed 
his last sigh, when we could no longer recognise 
his features, the snow alone, which was heaped up 
on his body, marked the outline of it. God alone 
knows what we that night suffered. 

"At day-break, the Arabs, on learning his death, 
would not, at first, permit us to inter him ; at last 



THEIR SUFFERINGS AT TEKEDEMTA. 213 

they yielded to our prayers. We stripped the dead 
body, and lowered it into the grave we had dug 
for it ; and we had at least the consolation of seeing 
that a Christian was the first to be buried in Teke- 
demta. 

"The death of Berthoumian gave us a haick 
and a shirt; we covered ourselves with them. I 
know not if we were wrong in clothing ourselves 
in the dress of the dead, and if God will punish us 
for it; — but, Lieutenant, our legs and feet were 
naked; we slept in the open air; this haick and 
shirt protected us a little from the cold. We suf- 
fered so much ! 

" We heard nothing said of Monsieur Meurice 
or you. The Arabs, far from allowing us to hope 
a speedy termination of our captivity, attempted, 
on the contrary, to persuade us that it was never 
to end. Thus we had, in perspective, nothing but 
the labour and cruelty to which we had been con- 
stantly exposed, and the terrible death to which 
one of our number had already yielded. They 
told us you had been exchanged ; we lost all hope 
of ever being ransomed. 

"We conceived the project of escaping; two 
Turks, made prisoners at Mousthaganem, who 
were subjected to the same labour as ourselves, 
had formed a similar design ; we joined together to 
assure success. Our food was far from being abun- 
dant ; still we placed on one side every day a few 
pieces of biscuit, which were to suffice to satisfy our 
hunger during our flight. We were on the point of 
starting, when the horsemen of Mascara came for us. 



214 



CHAPTER XVII. 



" They told us we were about to be conducted 
to Oran. Nothing can give an idea of our joy at 
this intelligence. I thought for a moment I should 
become mad. 

" They at last brought us two mules ; we set out. 
We have travelled two days and two nights with- 
out stopping, and were so happy, we never 
thought of eating the whole way. The Arabs 
offered us some barley, but we refused it. Hap- 
piness prevented our being sensible to hunger. 

" Our misery had nearly finished. Why are not 
M. Meurice and poor Berthoumian with us ! In 
truth, Lieutenant, we shall again see Genoa ? " 

" Certainly ! but in the mean time you must 
eat." 

Mardulin ran to buy some bread and dried figs. 
Whilst the two fishermen were devouring the pro- 
visions which Mardulin had just given them, they 
desired to see the little cabin boy. 

I sent for the child. The fishermen in vain 
covered him with caresses — he no longer recognised 
them. 

" Benedicto," said they to him, " you have for- 
gotten us ?" 
" No." 

" What are our names ?" 
" I do not know." 
" Where is your country ? " * 
" Here." 

" You have not been baptised ?" 
" I am Mussulman." 

"Not so, little fellow ! you are a Christian. Be- 



BENEDICTO. 



215 



nedicto, have you then forgotten the vessel in 
which we were embarked when we were fishing for 
coral 

The child did not reply. 

" Do you not wish to return to Algiers ?" 

" No." 

"But we shall go to Genoa; you will see your 
uncle,, who is the owner of beautiful vessels ; you 
will embrace your mother/'' 

At this word the child seemed to feel some emo- 
tion, and his recollections appeared to return. 

"You will come with us to see your mother?" 

" Yes, but I should not like to leave the children 
of the Kait and my mother who is down yonder." 

And the child, on pronouncing these words, 
pointed with his hand to the spot where the tent 
of Abd-el-Kadei^s wife was situated. He then 
hurried away to play in the square with the chil- 
dren of the town. 

The next day, the Kait of Mascara summoned 
us all to him. He announced to us we should 
soon depart for Algiers, and that he had received 
orders from Abd-el-Kader to clothe us all. 

Bourgeois, Fleury, and I had trowsers. They 
distributed to us haicks and slippers. Three did not 
receive haicks. They gave us woollen waistcoats. 
Our slippers were worn out ; I went to the Kait to 
ask for others. 

"You have no need of them," replied he to me. 
"You will not walk ; you will be on a mule." 

" That is no reason for allowing me to set out 
barefooted." 



216 



CHAPTER XVII. 



" Son of a dog, silence !" 

" No ; I will not be silent. Before my depar- 
ture I will tell you what I think. 

" You are right to call me son of a dog ; for you 
have treated me like a dog. You have killed 
Meurice and the fisherman ; you have driven me 
to the verge of the grave. 

" You have left us naked, exposed to the most 
severe cold. You have fed us like swine. And 
your countrymen, prisoners at Marseilles, are 
treated with kindness. They have written they 
were well off, and still you have granted no alle- 
viation to our suffering. 

" The Sultan clothes us because we are about to 
return to our own country. He wishes the French, 
on seeing us dressed, may think he is good and 
generous. They know all his deceit. 

" I will relate to them all the bad treatment we 
have experienced. Tell Abd-el-Kader I am sorry 
to set out without seeing him ; for I should have 
wished to repeat to him, before returning home, 
that his conduct towards his Christian prisoners is 
infamous ! " 

I retired, transported with rage. The Kait re- 
turned a few moments after, and gave me two pie- 
cette. Formerly, each piecetta was worth eight 
mousounes (eight sous) ; at present, they are each 
worth eleven mousounes. Since the poverty of 
this treasury, Abd-el-Kader has increased the no- 
minal value of the coin about a quarter. At last, 
on the morning of the 30th, they led before our 
door some mules laden with skins, which the 



DEPARTURE FROM MASCARA. 



217 



merchants of Blida and Miliaria were taking to 
this last town, where they were to be prepared. 
The Sultan had ordered all the Christians to be 
sent to Miliana. Three deserters were comprised in 
our caravan. The Kait requested us to prepare to 
set out immediately. I mounted my mule. In 
my joy, and in the hurry in which we set out, 
I forgot my cards and chessmen. I had taken 
pleasure in the idea of carrying them with me 
to Algiers, and preserving these objects which had 
relieved the long hours of captivity. The Kait 
gave the signal of departure; Benedicto cried, he 
did not wish to follow us. The children called to 
him ; he begged the Arabs to leave him behind ; 
but Francesco took him in his arms, and placed 
him on his mule, in spite of his cries and tears. 

The women, children, all the inhabitants of the 
town, overwhelmed us with abuse and threats. We 
passed unmoved through this vile and barbarous 
population.- We were absorbed in the happiness 
of quitting this frightful country. 

My joy was soon embittered by a feeling of 
sorrow and regret. The Kait had had the cruelty 
to send Jean Mardulin to dig up a piece of can- 
non concealed in the ground by the Arabs at the 
time of the occupation of Mascara by the French, 
at a league from the city, and in quite a different 
direction from that we were taking. 

We were grieved at leaving this place without 
squeezing the hand of this excellent man, who 
had been our benefactor during our whole stay at 
Mascara. 

L 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



journey from mascara to millana. — tears shed in memory of 
Meurice. — The Village of El-Borgj. — Halt for the Night. — 
Pretty Village. — The House of the Kait. — Our Lodging. — 
Tribes of the Ouet-Mina. — Wealth. — Three Arab Women. — ■ 
They make Bread Cakes. — We pass the Night in a Douar. — 
Forced March. — Sufferings. — We ascend the Cheliff. — 
Kemains of a Spanish Town. — Meeting with some Horse- 
men. — We are well treated by an Aga of the Plain of 
Miliana. — Picture. — March. — Arrival at the Camp of the 
Bey of Miliana. — The good Coffee Maker. — Arrival at 
Miliana. — Description of that Town. 

We had scarcely passed the last bouses in Mas- 
cara, when we heard the Kait of the town order our 
escort to stop ; he counted us three times succes- 
sively, we were twelve Christian prisoners and 
three deserters. The mules on which we rode 
belonged to merchants, to whom the Sultan gave a 
certain sum, in payment for the expense of our 
transport. Four prisoners were on foot, but they 
were to mount in turn. The owner of the mule on 
which I rode assured me, that after leaving his 
skins at Blida, he would go to Algiers for merchan- 
dise. This information afforded me great pleasure ; 
it gave me the hope of reaching Algiers sooner than 
I had anticipated. Several Jews and Arabs, on 
foot or on asses, who were also proceeding to the 
province of Algiers, had joined our caravan; we 



JOURNEY FROM MASCARA TO MILTANA. 219 



were forty in number. A Kait from the neigh- 
bourhood of Mascara accompanied us, and one of 
Abd-el-Kader's horsemen had the charge of watch- 
ing over and protecting us. The Kait of Mascara, 
after having counted and recounted us, recom- 
mended the chief of the escort to treat us well, and 
never to make me dismount from my mule. He 
left us, and we pursued our journey. 

After a few moments' march, Bourgeois came to 
me and said, 

" Lieutenant, here is the spot where we buried 
M. Meurice." 

All the prisoners bowed their heads. I saw the 
two Italians wipe away the tears which rolled down 
their cheeks. I shed a few tears at the remem- 
brance of my friend, and we all hastened away. I 
should have wished to have taken his body with 
us to Algiers, and buried him in a spot where the 
wild beasts and Arabs would not disinter him. A 
young marabout, who was going to Miliana, joined 
our caravan. 

Towards one o'clock in the afternoon, we dis- 
covered the village of El-Borgj. At a few paces 
from this village we saw a numerous body of 
Arabs, from among whom rose a deafening noise. 
The Kait told me it was market day ; still the pre- 
sence of so great a number of Arabs seemed to 
cause him some uneasiness; he dreaded for a short 
time lest the prisoners entrusted to his care should 
become the victims of their fury. He made our 
troop halt, and sent the horseman to warn the Kait 
of our arrival. We made a circuit in order not to 



220 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



pass through the village, and seated ourselves on the 
other side. They told us to wait and rest ourselves, 
until we received our ration of bread. 

The village of El-Borgj is situated upon a low 
but steep hill, which borders the plain of Mascara 
on the north ; it encloses a mosque, and two or 
three houses built of stones, the others of clay, and 
covered with straw and brambles. It is surrounded 
v >y a wall of four feet high, in which are two gates, 
aie one facing the east, the other the west. There 
are some fruit trees in the surrounding gardens, but 
more generally vines. The Arabs never cut them; 
they grow several feet above the ground, and 
extend their branches, loaded with delicious grapes, 
similar to trees. The grapes of the village El-Borgj 
are in great repute among the Arabs, and it is 
certainly well deserved. 

We remained seated a quarter of an hour, wait- 
ing for our bread; during this time the women 
and children from the village ran towards us, and 
never ceased annoying us with abuse and threats. 
At last they distributed to each of us a bread cake, 
and we immediately resumed our march. The 
bread was white enough, but sour; the flour must 
have been old. Nevertheless, although they were 
quite warm, I devoured my half cake. In propor- 
tion as I removed from Mascara I felt my strength 
and appetite return. 

We travelled all the day along frightful roads, 
and over ravines and hills, stones and brambles, in 
a wild and uncultivated country. At the approach 
of night we reached a little village, situated four 



A DELIGHTFIL VILLAGE. 



22\ 



leagues from the cascade of the Oaet-Mina. in the 
south-west. 

The position of the village is delightful ; the 
houses are built in the form of an amphitheatre, at 
the foot of the mountain. The house of the Kait 
is a little lower; it is of a tolerable size, of a very 
pretty appearance, and built on a small island 
formed by two rivulets ; it is surrounded by a gar- 
den, tilled with fruit trees, laurel roses, magnificent 
poplars, fig, almond, peach, apricot trees, vines, 
jujub trees, which cover all this portion of plain 
and mountain, and give this spot the appearance of 
a rich and fertile country. The gardens of the 
inhabitants of the village are abundantly supplied 
with fruit trees of every description, and spread 
gracefully on the sides of the ravines, at the foot of 
which the streams which water them constantly 
maintain a luxuriant and flourishing vegetation. 

While our Kait was conversing with the Kait of 
the village on the arrangements he had to make for 
lodging the Christians during the night, the mer- 
chants who accompanied us were pitching their 
tent. We entered the village by a very steep foot- 
path. They conducted us to the house assigned us 
by the Kait : but, on seeein^ us, the owner became 
violently angry, and repulsed us with fury. After 
half an hour's discussion with the chief of our 
escort, he succeeded in having us conducted to 
another hcuse. 

On entering the room which was destined for us, 
we at once saw that it was usually inhabited by a 
race different from our own : it was a stable. The 



222 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



house was built of stone ; the walls were only three 
feet high, but as the roof was sloping, we were able 
to stand upright. They lighted a small fire in the 
middle of the apartment, after we had brushed it 
out. They spread a carpet in one of the corners 
for our chiefs. We seated ourselves on the ground. 
The young marabout recited the prayer; they then 
served us a dish of excellent couscoussou. We 
made a good meal, but passed a very bad night. 
A thick smoke filled the room. We took care not 
to extinguish the fire, as we should have suffered so 
much from cold, and preferred not sleeping to hav- 
ing our legs frozen. 

As soon as day appeared, we continued our jour- 
ney. The prisoners who had walked the clay 
before mounted the mules. After four hours* 
march, we arrived at another tribe on the banks of 
the Ouet-Mina. 

The Kait who commanded us, after having 
ordered the rest of the caravan to proceed and wait 
for us on the banks of the river, made a sign to me 
and the Italians to accompany him. Having 
passed through the tribe, we entered a tent of 
camel-hair, large, and of a rich and comfortable 
appearance. The men of the tribe were at the 
market on the banks of the Ouet-Mina. We only 
found three women in the tent, whose rich and 
neat dresses confirmed us in our opinion, which we 
entertained before entering, that it belonged to a 
wealthy chief. One of the women was young and 
pretty. We seated ourselves on the carpet. The 
women and children of the other tents immediately 



WE PASS THE NIGHT IN A DOUAR. 



223 



ran to look at us, and never ceased, by their man- 
ner, grimaces, and words, expressing their hatred of 
Christians. The Kait demanded bread for his fol- 
lowers and prisoners. 

The three women immediately began to make 
cakes. One of them took a mill, and busied herself 
in grinding the corn ; the second lighted the fire, and 
diluted in water the flour which the first gave to 
her; the third placed a pan on the fire, in which 
she melted some butter, and cooked the cakes, after 
having kneaded the flour. 

Our chief put a sufficient number of cakes into a 
sack, and we rejoined the remainder of the caravan 
on the banks of the Ouet-Mina. They distributed 
the rations of bread, and we continued our journey. 
I saw again with pleasure the spot on the banks of 
the river where I had occasionally bathed with 
Meurice. We had passed there the least unhappy 
days of our captivity. After having crossed the 
river, we marched towards the north, to avoid the 
tribes of the Beni-Flitas, who had thrown off the 
yoke of Abd-el-Kader, and proceeded in the direc- 
tion of the Cheliff. 

At the decline of day we stopped at a douar. 

The Arabs call a douar the collection of several 
tents placed in a circle, and surrounded by thorn 
bushes, forming a kind of enclosure, in which they 
protect their herds during the night. Each tent 
is guarded by two or three dogs, which never 
cease barking. All the tribes, as all the Arab 
cities, are filled with dogs, which, during the night, 
make a dreadful noise. 



224 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



Although the clouar at which we had just ar- 
rived is situated in a very fertile and well-culti- 
vated country, for we saw nothing but stubble on 
all sides, they served us a dish of detestable cous- 
coussou. The young marabout himself in vain re- 
cited several prayers in presence of the Arabs of 
the douar, he could not obtain better food ; we 
supped very ill, and suffered very much from the 
cold, in spite of the mats with which we were 
covered . 

On the third day after our departure from Mas- 
cara, we marched until the evening without a 
moment's rest. The ground we passed over was 
very stony, and covered with brambles ; the feet of 
the prisoners were in a deplorable condition, their 
slippers being completely worn out. The horse- 
man who accompanied us set off at full gallop at 
mid-day, and brought back with him some bad 
barley cakes. We each received half of one. 

After a forced march, ascending the ChelifF, the 
banks of which are inhabited by numerous tribes, 
we encamped for the night in a village, of which 
all the houses were built of mud. They lodged us 
in a miserable hovel, the walls of which were in 
ruins. They served us some couscoussou of beans. 
We were without fire the whole night, and the 
cold tormented us dreadfully. The prisoners were 
exhausted with fatigue — their feet were torn — sor- 
row and dejection had spread over us, when M. Pic 
entered the room, uttering dreadful cries — a dog 
had bitten his leg. The wound was not serious, it 
was a scratch ; but he cried out, he wept to such a 



FORCED MARCH. 



225 



degree, that we overwhelmed him with jokes, and, 
thanks to this event, forgot our fatigue and suffer- 
ings for a moment. 

We marched all the next day without stopping. 
We passed the ruins of a Spanish town; there 
were no houses or walls standing, but we perceived 
a large quantity of freestone. 

We met some horsemen, who, as soon as they 
saw us, prepared their arms, and disposed them- 
selves to attack us. Our Kait advanced from the 
escort, and went to meet them. Then, to frighten 
us, or as a sign of rejoicing, the horsemen dashed 
towards us at fall speed, aiming at us with their 
guns, and fired several shots between the legs of our 
mules; they then drew their sabres, directing 
them at our heads, and pretended to be about to 
strike us. Madame Laurent was very much ter- 
rified, and an Arab very near threw her on the 
earth, by catching hold of the bales on which she 
was seated. At last, after having completed their 
evolutions, they pursued their journey towards 
Mascara. 

During the whole day we suffered very much; 
our mules were fatigued, and stumbled at every 
step. We arrived before sunset in a little village, 
where, from all I have heard and seen, I have 
reason to think an Aga of the plain of Miliana had 
his residence. They made us enter a large house, 
situated in the principal square ; the interior 
formed a single room ; it was large, and shewed 
by its whole arrangement that it was destined for 
the reception of travellers. 

l 2 



226 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



They stretched at one end of the room mats, . 
on which we seated ourselves; at the other ex- 
tremity, the Arabs, crouched round a large fire, 
were preparing coffee. I thought they sold it, and 
requested to have two cups, one for Madame 
Laurent and one for myself, adding, that I had 
sufficient mousounes to pay for them. One of the 
chiefs replied, — 

"You think, then, the Aga is not sufficiently 
rich, and requires a mousoune to give you some 
coffee." 

" I did not know the coffee belonged to the Aga. 
I am far from doubting his generosity." 

The slaves brought sumptuous cushions and a 
beautiful divan, far more elegant and comfortable 
than those used by Abd-el-Kader. The Aga, 
magnificently dressed, entered, accompanied by 
our Kait, the young marabout, and several other 
chiefs. They seated themselves on the cushions 
and carpets, and began, while conversing, to take 
their coffee and smoke their long pipes. 

I approached the Aga, and said to him, — 

" I come to ask your pardon. I knew not the 
coffee they were preparing was yours — I wished 
to buy some. They answered me, that an Aga as 
rich and as powerful as you never sold what be- 
longed to him, but that he made presents. I am 
ill ; a woman who is with us is also ill. Will you 
give us a cup of coffee ?" 

The Aga had two cups brought for us ; and or- 
dered his slaves to conduct Madame Laurent and 



AN AG A OF THE PLAIN OF MILIANA. 22? 

the little boy to his wife's house, where both met a 
most benevolent reception, and every kind of good 
treatment. 

The room we occupied presented a novel and 
amusing" sight. 

In one corner, the Christians, seated round a 
fire, were conversing of their misery and their 
sufferings. One could read in their pale faces all 
the sufferings and tortures they had endured. The 
greater number were occupied in dressing the 
wounds which covered their feet, torn and bleeding 
from the rocks and brambles on their long journey. 
A plaintive murmur arose from the circle. The 
momentary ease revived the prisoners' strength, but 
at the same time an acute pain, which shot through 
their limbs, exhausted by so many hard trials, and 
benumbed by fatigue and weakness. 

A few paces from us the Arabs, reclined on 
superb cushions, in a circle at the Aga's feet, who, 
in his splendid dress, resembled a sultan, were 
gravely smoking their pipes and drinking their 
coffee. The flame from the fire-place cast an 
uncertain light over their pale and lengthened 
faces, and impressed them with a fierce and formi- 
dable expression. They were conversing on the 
projects and position of Abd-el-Kader ; and, oc- 
casionally, when their conversation turned on the 
Christians, the eyes of the speakers shot forth a 
vivid flash, anger was legible on their lips ; and we 
might fancy we saw the worthy descendants of the 
wandering race, which, in past ages, invaded Chris- 



228 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



tian Europe, and denied the churches and holy 
houses, by planting their crescent on the steeples 
and towers which rose over them. 

At the hour of prayer, the young marabout rose 
and recited it. The Arabs did the same, w 7 ith much 
devotion ; and I, from my corner, observed the 
scene, in which I was the most tranquil per- 
former. 

They brought some dishes of couscoussou for 
the Aga's supper. We had half a roast sheep 
upon a dish of couscoussou. 

This strengthening repast, and the excellent 
night we passed on mats near the fire, did not a 
little contribute to revive our strength, exhausted by 
so much fatigue ; and we felt some regret on quit- 
ting, at day-break, the village where we had met 
with such generous and liberal hospitality. The 
Aga who treated us so well must be very rich, 
for every thing belonging to him was on an exten- 
sive and splendid scale. 

We marched for six hours, exposed, as usual, to 
the hooting, the insults, the blows of the Arabs who 
accompanied us. We arrived at a spot where the 
camp of the Bey of Miliana had been just pitched, 
At the moment of our entering the camp, the Bey 
and Milloud-Ben-Harrach, whom Abd-el-Kader, 
on setting out from Mascara, had sent among the 
Hadjoutis, also entered, escorted by all his cavalry. 
They paid them the honours I have already de- 
scribed, when I related our life in the camp of the 
Sultan. The horsemen of the Bey are much 
better clothed and far richer than those on the coast 



ARRIVAL AT THE CAMP OF THE BEY. 229 

of Oran. The improvement in their dress is ren- 
dered necessary, by the severity of the cold which 
reigns in this quarter. Two pieces of cannon de- 
fended the camp. 

Milloud-Ben-Harrach and the Bey conversed 
with apparent cordiality. A report had been 
spread that a misunderstanding" existed between 
these two chiefs. They are deceived ; the most 
perfect concord, the sincerest intimacy, existed be- 
tween the Bey and Milloud-Ben-Harracb. 

They announced our arrival to the Bey. We 
were placed before his tent ; he cast a glance at us, 
arid made a sign to our Kait to lead us away, who 
conducted us to a small tent not large enough to 
hold us all. They only gave us a morsel of bad 
biscuit, so hard that it was necessary to soak it in 
water to chew it. We had no fire, consequently 
the cold prevented our sleeping. 

The coffee maker of Milloud Ben-Harrach (they 
are usually Turks) had known me well, and 
Meurice also, when we were in Abd-el-Kader J s 
camp. This good man, having learnt the arrival 
of the Christian prisoners, immediately hastened to 
our tent. He brought two cups of coffee on a tray, 
which he intended offering to Meurice and me. I 
told him the death of my friend. The Turk was 
affected with my description of his miserable end. 
He pressed me to accept the coffee. I gave one 
cup to Madame Laurent, who was still unwell, and 
drank the other myself. At day-break the Arabs 
struck the camp ; they followed exactly the same 
method which I have remarked in the camp of 



230 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



Abd-el-Kader. Milloud-Ben-Harrach took the road 
for Mascara, and the Bey of Miliaria gained the 
mountains which border the sea, on the coast of 
Chercell. He was on his way to attack a tribe who 
had refused to pay the impost. On the road to 
Miliana, where we arrived after six hours' march, 
we crossed the ChelifF by a very handsome bridge, 
built in the European form, and which is not more 
than thirty years old. 

Having reached the south end of the town, we 
left the plain to ascend the mountain on which 
Miliana is built. They reckon it an hour and a 
half's march from the plain to the town. Miliana 
is commanded, on the north, by a mountain of 
greater elevation than that on which it is built, the 
summit of which is surmounted by a Marabout 
and a signal-pole. 

The town is well built; the houses are lofty,, 
and terraces do not supply the place of roofs, as in 
the other Arab cities. Tiles similar to those used in 
the south of France, of a long and rounded shape, 
cover the houses ; the streets are narrow and dirty. 
A simple wall of moderate height, embattled, and 
fortified with two pieces of cannon, surrounds the 
town. Two gates contrived in the wall, one to the 
east, the other to the west, form the entrance into 
Miliana. 

On the south, the eminence on which the town 
is placed offers to the view only inaccessible rocks, 
covered with briars, thorns, and brambles. To 
the east and west, well cultivated gardens, filled 
with every description of fruit trees, the fruits of 



ARRIVAL AT MIL! ANA. 



231 



which grow to a remarkable size, cover the moun- 
tain. At the foot of the hill, which borders the 
town on the north, are the kitchen gardens, which 
produce the species of vegetable in season. Thus, 
the Arabs grow only cabbages during their season, 
and only sow the turnip seed at the favourable 
moment for the growth of that vegetable, and so 
on with others. 

The easiest approach to this town is from Mas- 
cara, by the road from Oran, although the moun- 
tain is thickly wooded and covered with mastic, 
holm, pines, cypress, and olive trees. On this 
side, an hour and a half's walk leads to Miliana, 
whilst in the other directions it is necessary to walk 
the whole day to reach the town. A very abundant 
spring, rising in the larger mountain in the north, 
supplies all the fountains, and conducts the water 
by subterranean aqueducts into the houses of the 
richest and principal inhabitants. 

There is only one mosque and one synagogue. 
The Casbah is built in the south ; two pieces of 
cannon, the mouths of which are directed towards 
the side, rendered inaccessible by the position of 
the rocks and the nature of the ground, defend the 
town. A small square outside the western gate 
is used as a market place. The Arabs of the sur- 
rounding country bring there a great number of 
beasts. They have erected numerous sheds in the 
town, to shelter the fruit, vegetables, and butter 
merchants. The numerous shops, inhabited by 
blacksmiths, locksmiths, carpenters, joiners, bakers 
(who sell white bread), shoemakers, woollen drapers, 



232 



CHAPTER XVlil. 



potters, show the industry of the inhabitants, whose 
appearance is much more animated and wealthy 
than those of Mascara ; it contains also a few small 
bazaars. The population must be about 3,000 
souls, among whom there are a great number of 
Jews. These last all exercise one calling; they 
are very industrious, and make themselves very 
useful, even indispensable, to the Arabs. Never- 
theless, their condition is extremely miserable ; they 
are not exactly slaves, but the natives look upon 
them as a race inferior to themselves ; they ill-use 
them, treat them with every mark of disdain, al- 
ways conduct themselves as their masters, and 
seek every opportunity of deceiving them, and 
extortioning their merchandise and money. 

The houses of the Jews are remarkable for their 
cleanliness, in the exterior as well as interior. They 
are always busy in white-washing the walls. In 
spite of the annoyances to which they are daily 
subject, they enjoy a certain degree of ease. The 
Jewish women are, in general, pretty, and are ex- 
tremely neat and cleanly, both in their dress and 
toilette, and which we are the more surprised at 
meeting with among savages. 

We passed through the town, in the midst of 
the hootings of the population, and were conducted 
to the Casbah. Our chief counted and recounted 
his prisoners, and presented them to the Kait, who 
governs the town during the absence of the Bey. 

After this interview, they shut us up in a stable, 
from whence they made us proceed to take up our 
lodging in the house where the Bey distributes 



DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN. 



233 



justice. Madame Laurent and Benedicto were 
taken to the Kait's wives, where, doubtless, a less 
miserable and less frightful lodging awaited them 
than ours ; for, in proportion the moment of our 
deliverance approached, the harder and more in- 
supportable became our sufferings and privations. 

I have often heard women and children, kneeling 
before the altar of the Virgin, in our sea-ports, 
entreat the mother of God to assist the sailor and 
the prisoner. Alas ! continue your prayers, for 
the sailor and the prisoner are exposed to severe 
afflictions, and to dreadful misfortunes; pray for 
the seafaring man, whose vessel is shattered by the 
tempest; pray for the prisoner, groaning in infected 
dungeons, upon the cold and damp earth. He is, 
perhaps, breathing his last sigh, without a friend to 
hear his lamentation, or dry the tears which flow 
in the painful agonies of death. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Prison of Miliana.— Deceptions.— Delay in our Exchange. — 
Sickness. — History of the Deserter Moussa. — Falsehoods. 
Identity Discovered. — Repentance. — Departure for the 
Hadjoutis. — Return to Miliana. — Benevolence. — False- 
hoods. — Four Heads. — Crimes of Moussa. — A Letter. — He 
is conducted to the Sultan to give an Account of his Con- 
duct. — What must have been his End. 

I have said we had been conducted to a bouse 
where the Bey of Miliana holds his court. This 
house contained a court-yard; at the four corners 
four orange trees, one of which in particular was 
magnificent and covered with fruit, had shaded 
this enclosure for years. A cock turned into a little 
basin the quantity of water necessary for domestic 
purposes. Three small rooms had been contrived 
on the ground floor. In the first story the slaves 
prepared the Bey's coffee ; the second served as a 
prison to the condemned Arabs ; the third, the use 
of which I am ignorant of before our arrival, 
became the dungeon in which we were to conceal 
our misery and our misfortune. 

Between the second and third room, a staircase, 
covered by a kind of shed, under which slept our 
guardians, led to the first floor. This story formed 
one vast apartment, the ceiling of which is supported 
by pillars, and in which the Bey gives audience. 



OUR PRISON AT M1LIANA. 



235 



The Arabs who groaned in this abode as pri- 
soners were of some of those whose tribes had 
submitted to the French. The greater part were 
in irons,, the others in stocks. The stocks are 
formed of two pieces of strong wood, in which two 
holes are contrived. In these they enclose the 
prisoner's feet, and the unfortunate man can neither 
rise nor walk. The condition in which these poor 
fellows were was truly deplorable. They cruelly 
atoned for the sympathy which had induced them 
to embrace the French cause. The chamber we 
inhabited was dark, small, cold, and damp. The 
daylight entered only by a hole in the door, which 
opened into the court. We were able to go out 
and walk in the court, but during our stay at 
Miliana the weather prevented it, as it never ceased 
snowing and raining the whole time. 

In the morning we had only a bad barley cake, 
filled with stones and earth, and in the evening 
they gave us a handful of boiled barley, and it was 
so diluted in water, that we had not even the satis- 
faction of putting it into our mouths with our 
fingers. A food thus dirty and scanty, the cold 
and damp to which we were exposed, without the 
power of protecting ourselves, as we had no fire, 
must naturally have given rise to new sufferings 
and diseases, the termination of which presented 
itself before us in mournful and dismal colours. 
Bourgeois, who so far had enjoyed good health, 
fell sick ; the cold seized his legs and body. We 
passed our days in rubbing him. 

The fatigue of so long a journey had inflamed 



236 



CHAPTER XIX. 



the wound of the German, Monsieur Pic's servant. 
Mardulin was no longer with us, and we had 
neither honey nor butter to dress the wound, which 
began to emit a bad odour. We were cast down 
by so many privations, but still despair and dis- 
couragement had not yet gained possession of us. 
The chiefs of our escort had given us the assurance 
that we should set out for Algiers three days after 
our arrival at Miliana, and we awaited with im- 
patience the end of our captivity in this town. 
But we were soon cruelly undeceived. 

The days rolled on, and each night saw our 
prison door close upon us. In proportion as the 
period fixed for our deliverance grew distant, the 
future presented itself in more gloomy colours ; 
despair cast its dread over our minds, while misery 
and disease each day spread its ravages on our 
bodies. The instructions our chiefs had given to 
the Kait of Miliana with regard to us must have 
been very undefined, since he did not know what 
to do with us. The Kait wrote to Abd-el-Kader, 
entreating him to point out those whose exchange 
was to take place. He had not sent our names. 
The Sultan replied to him to ask the Christians 
which of them desired to go to Algiers. I am 
certain Abd-el-Kader intended sending us all. 

We were twelve Christians ; they gave in return 
fifteen Arabs. But the Kait pretended not to un- 
derstand the orders of his master. He ordered me 
to write to Algiers, to inform the General of the 
death of Meurice and Berthumian, and to inform 
him that, in the place of these prisoners, he would 



DELAY IN OUR EXCHANGE. 



237 



send two other Christians. Thus the agreement 
to exchange the six French for the fifteen Arabs 
would be maintained. 

I wished to make the Ka'it see how exorbitant 
his demand was ; he ordered me to be silent, and 
not to say a word to my companions in misfortune, 
who were expecting their liberty, but of whose 
presence among the Arabs the French authorities 
were still ignorant, putting off to a future period 
the question of their exchange. He himself wrote 
to Algiers a letter in Arabic, which was doubtless 
a duplicate of mine. All these negociations, all 
these delays, in an affair so simple, and of so 
little importance to those who managed it, excited 
among us an irritation and despair impossible to 
describe. Our prison became more odious and 
hateful from day to day. Those among us who 
until now had resisted the tortures and hardships 
to which we had been subject, gave way in their 
turn. Cold and fever compelled us to pass the 
days and nights stretched upon the damp and offen- 
sive ground of the dungeon in which we were im- 
prisoned. Crescenso and Francesco had lost all 
hope and confidence; they no longer believed in 
their exchange ; and this discouragement, joined 
to cold and misery, had stifled in their hearts all 
courage and energy. 

These two young fishermen began to complain, 
and acute pain nailed them to their corner, by the 
side of Bourgeois and the German. Monsieur Pic 
was ill ; Monsieur Lanternier was visibly declin- 
ing, and delirium was already disturbing his mind. 



238 



CHAPTER XIX. 



In the midst of so many sufferings, the presence of 
the Bey of Miliana was impatiently expected by 
each of us. We thought this important personage 
would alleviate our condition, and hasten our de- 
liverance. But he did not arrive. 

During these continual disquietudes and tor- 
ments, we one day received the visit of a deserter, 
whose life and position among the Arabs are too 
curious to be passed over in silence. The principal 
misdeeds of this bandit have reached the ears of 
the Generals who command our troops in Algiers. 
I think they will not read the adventures of Moussa 
without interest. 

We had already seen this deserter ; but I have 
deferred until this moment speaking of the meet- 
ing, in order to introduce this episode entire. I 
know nothing more fatiguing than to follow, through 
the numerous pages of a book, from chapter to 
chapter, the continuation and conclusion of an in- 
teresting history. Moreover, by the side of the 
mournful description of our misery at Miliana, this 
picture of romantic events will form a contrast to 
the scenes of desolation which I have still to place 
before the reader's eye. 

I return to the recital. 

Abd-el-Kader was encamped on the banks of 
the Ouet-Mina. The day began to close in ; I was 
walking with Meurice before our tent, when we 
saw an Arab and a man pass in company, the 
former without a bernou, and the latter in the uni- 
form of the Spahis. The last made his horse 
prance, and had a striking appearance. The Arabs 



HISTORY OF MODSSA. 



239 



pointed them out to us, saying, " There is a Chris- 
tian." The deserter had nevertheless embraced 
Mahomedisrn. We continued our walk without 
paying further attention to these two horsemen, 
who proceeded to the tent of Abd-el-Kader. 

Soon after, a negro came to tell us that Moussa, 
the Christian, wished to sneak with us. 

" Go and tell Moussa, if he wishes to speak 
with us, he has only to come here, for we are not 
free to go where we choose." 

The negro had scarcely departed, than we saw a 
man approaching us, of lofty stature, wearing a 
long and flowing beard, with a dignified, or rather 
insolent bearing. 

"I am much astonished," exclaimed he, with 
disdain, and addressing us angrily, "that dogs of 
Christians, such as you, refuse to come to me, when 
a man as great and as powerful as Moulin has 
summoned them." 

"Night is approaching. Ben-Faka forbids us 
to be distant from the tent at this hour." 

"My fame has not then reached you? Your 
fate is in my hands." 

" We know you not/' 

" I am Moulin. It is four years since I sepa- 
rated myself from the French. I command-in- 
chief the armies of the Sultan ; I conduct his 
Arabs to victory ; I cast terror and death into the 
ranks of the Christians ; it is I who, returning 
from battle, always bring back, suspended to my 
saddle-bow, the heads of four Frenchmen, killed 
by my own hand." 



240 



CHAPTER XIX. 



" My good sir, do you think you are this moment 
conversing with fools ?" 
" What say you, wretch ?" 

i( I say that bur soldiers believe in the existence 
of Moulin. The name of that deserter still inspires 
them with terror; for he has distinguished himself 
among the Arabs, after his infamous desertion, by 
his courage ; but he has been long since dead — he is 
a being of pure fiction. We believe not in ghosts." 

" I am Moulin, I tell you, dog of a Christian ; 
and am called Moussa since I have embraced 
the religion of the true believers. My power and 
my authority have no limits. I am this moment 
going to the tent of my friend Abd-el-Kader, to 
decide upon your fate." 

"Very well; use your influence with Abd-el- 
Kader in our favour. Endeavour to facilitate our 
return to Algiers. But it is growing late ; Ben- 
Faka insists upon our entering our tent before 
night sets in. Good night." And we left this 
singular being. 

" While you were talking with him," said 
Meurice to me, " I watched him attentively. His 
features are not unknown to me ; I think I have 
often seen him in Paris, He will return to- 
morrow. Turn the conversation upon Paris and 
the Theatres; and while you are talking, I will ob- 
serve the impression made on his countenance by 
your words." 

Moussa presented himself before us with the 
same assurance, and the same presumption, as on 
the preceding day. 



CONVERSATION WITH MOUSSA. 



241 



" I have not yet thought of you/' said he ; " but 
your turn will come to-day. The affairs I have to 
regulate with my friend, the Sultan, are so nu- 
merous, and of so high importance." 

"I can easily conceive that the duties of Gene- 
ral-in-Chief of the armies of the Sultan leave you 
but little leisure, and I am far from being asto- 
nished." 

" It is indeed true that my occupations are nu- 
merous. Your dogs of generals give us some 
trouble ; but I hope soon to have entirely finished 
with them." 

"The task you have before you is difficult." 

"So much the better; my glory will be the 
greater." 

"Mille Tonnerres ! what power on earth can 
resist my friend, the Sultan Abd-el-Kader, when 
Moulin leads his armies ?" 

" You persist, then, even to-day, in passing for 
Moulin ?" 

"You are very obstinate, dog of a Christian. I 
am Moulin. Answer me. Have not the French 
soldiers, on returning from battle, related that the 
Arab battalions were commanded by the terrible 
Moulin ?" 

"Yes." 

"Very well ; then why do you refuse to recognise 
me as Moulin ?" 

"I can with difficulty comprehend the credulity 
of the soldiers. I have heard them relate they had 
seen Moulin in the midst of the affray. The re- 
collection of this deserter is constantly present to 

M 



242 



CHAPTER XIX. 



their minds, and causes them some terror. But it 
is no matter whether you are or are not Moulin ; I 
will acknowledge you to be whomever you wish. 
At any rate you occupy a brilliant post." 
"Very brilliant." 

"Your fate is glorious; but do you not some- 
times regret, in the midst of an existence so 
unsettled and so full of privations, in a half bar- 
barous country, the life you must have led in our 
own country ? Comfort, luxury, and pleasures are 
unknown here. In France, life is so easy, so 
abundantly furnished with delightful and varied 
amusements. Are you acquainted with Paris P" 

" If I am acquainted with Paris? It is the city 
in which I was born/' 

"A Parisian child imbibes with its mother's 
milk the desire of enjoyment. It is the city of 
pleasure and delight ; it is the city of balls, and it 
is the city of my predilection. There the concerts, 
the museums, the theatres !" 

" Oh !" exclaimed Moussa, with vivacity, " the 
theatres — I went there every evening." 

" Which did you frequent the most ?" 

" The Odeon was the theatre I preferred." 

"The Odeon!" suddenly interrupted Meurice, 
with an energy I had never seen him display before. 
" The Odeon ! You are an impostor. Your name 
is neither Moulin nor Moussa; you are called 

Monsieur . I know you ; yes, Sir, and 

well. You came every evening to the proprietor's 
boxes of the Odeon Theatre. You were a child — 
I have held you on my knees. Your sister was a 



A DISCOVERY. 



243 



charming actress. My name is Meurice." At 
this vehement address, Moossa remained amazed 
and dumb. Meurice continued, — 

u Since that period I have lost sight of you — you 
have grown ; but I have heard of you. You 
turned out a wild fellow — a vagabond ; you entered 
into the cavalry ; you were transferred to the in- 
fantry ; but your restless and insupportable temper 
drew upon you the animadversion of your officers, 
and you were placed in the drill corps. You de- 
serted from that body, and entered the African 
battalion ; and, last of all, the Spahis, of which 
you still wear the uniform. I heard of your de- 
sertion in the prisons of Mascara. It is only four 
months since you were a soldier, and you have 
abandoned your colours. 

" I know you well, Sir. I see on your waistcoat 
the remains of a ribbon — the cloth is less worn : 
you saved the life of a woman who was drowning, 
and your officers, in recompence for this generous 
action, attached a medal to your button-hole. 

" You may call yourself Moossa, since you have 
deserted both your country and your religion ; but 
your name, before this infamous apostacy, was 
that I have just pronounced, and I now pass over 
in silence, out of respect for your family. The dis- 
honour with which you are covered will never re- 
flect upon her ; the qualities which distinguish her 
are appreciated by all who have the honour of 
knowing her." 

"You are right, Sir," exclaimed Moussa, despair 
and suffering painted on his features. " I am a 



244 



CHAPTER XIX. 



miserable, dishonoured man. You know only a part 
of my life. I was wrong in deserting, but I only 
met from my officers injustice and bad treatment. 
I am far from being satisfied with my present con- 
dition. I am unhappy, and wish to re-visit 
Europe. I am endeavouring to gain the favour of 
Abd~el-Kader, in order to scrape together some 
money. When I shall have collected a sum suf- 
ficient to defray the expense of the journey, I in- 
tend going to Morocco, and awaiting a vessel to 
convey me to the shores of Spain. 

" But, be assured, Monsieur Meurice, the vexa- 
tions to which I had been exposed, were the only 
causes which determined me on joining the Arabs, 
and I long struggled against the fatal idea; but I 
was not able to bow my head under injustice; and 
if I have some faults, I cruelly expiate them, for I 
am very unhappy/' 

"Very good," resumed Meurice, "continue to 
speak in this manner, and you will inspire interest, 
instead of the disgust your first address excited in 
me, as it would in any honest man, who should hear 
their God and their country blasphemed. But why 
these gross falsehoods, these impudent artifices P 
We are very unhappy — the condition of prisoners 
is dreadful ; still, we would not change our fate for 
yours; and, nevertheless, misery and bad treat- 
ment may soon end our lives. You are young ; 
employ your time and strength in repairing the 
the errors you have committed. The way of re- 
pentance is not closed against you for ever — you 
know there is mercy for every sinner." 



DECEIT. 



245 



" You make me listen to severe truths, Monsieur, 
and still I am far from wishing you ill. I assure 
you I am ashamed of the life I lead, and from this 
day will endeavour to change it." 

We continued this conversation for some time ; 
Moussa expressed his repentance. On account of 
his sorrow and suffering, — for the lot of deserter, 
like that of every soldier who should enter the ser- 
vice of the Arabs, was as bad and as deserving of 
pity as our own, — we forgot his crimes, the impu- 
dence with which he accosted us, and ended by 
becoming interested in the unfortunate man. 

He was lodged in the tent of Milloud-Ben- 
Harrach, commandant of the cavalry ; but as he 
took his meals with the Sultan, Moussa was com- 
pelled to eat with the slaves of this chief ; he also 
often came to our tent, and shared our food with us. 

At last, Abd-el-Kader gave him a horse, a 
bernou, sabre, and gun, and sent him, at his own 
request, to the Hacljoutis, among whom he had 
lived since his desertion. Moussa set out, after 
having expressed the regret our separation caused 
him, and after having promised Abd-el-Kader to 
bring him every month the heads of four French- 
men. 

We never saw him return. 

One day, then, during our captivity at Miliana, 
Moussa came to visit our prison. The Bey had 
not returned. I felt some pleasure in seeing 
him again, and related the tale of our misery. 

" I am quite at your service/' replied he. " The 
power and credit I enjoy among the Arabs, are 



246 



CHAPTER XIX. 



now established upon a solid basis. I command 
the cavalry of the Hadjoutis. Abd-el-Kader has 
summoned me — I am going- to join him. I pro- 
mise to press him on the subject of your exchange. 
I hope never to revisit the coast of Algiers; I in- 
tend effecting my passage to Spain " 

He went out after these words, and sent me 
some bread and a shirt ; I was so unhappy that I 
accepted it, thinking him still influenced by the 
same feeling of repentance. But I soon changed 
the good opinion this impudent fellow had inspired 
me with. 

During his absence, a Hadjouti (a very powerful 
and very rich tribe of the plain of Mitidja) told us, 
that in a skirmish in the month of November, he 
had cut off the heads of three officers of the 
Spahis, and that I must have seen the fourteen 
heads at Mascara. 

In the mean while Moussa returned. 

" I am going to set out, my friends. I have sent 
you a trifle; but I must husband my resources." 

" I thank you in the name of my companions, 
and particularly in my own name." 

" If I pass here again," continued he, " and you 
are still here, I. promise to give you all your desire, 
for I shall have my purse well filled. Abd-el- 
Kader has to pay me for the heads I cut off last 
month, in the rencontre with the Spahis ; and he 
will pay well for them, for I sent the heads of 
three officers. On arriving at Algiers, they will 
tell you the news of my courage and prowess ; for 
after having decapitated an officer and stripped 



CRIMES OF 3IOUSSA. 



247 



him, I wrote with the point of my sabre on his 
back, in letters carved in his flesh, M 1836." 

On hearing him heap falsehood on falsehood, 
and boast of the disasters suffered by oar troops, 
and rejoicing in the death of his countrymen, we 
could not restrain our indignation. 

"Wretch, villain," exclaimed all the prisoners, 
" out from hence !" 

" I shall not depart ! Am I not your master* 
dogs of Christians ?" 

" Out from hence, wretch, or we shall kill you ! 
You are unworthy to appear before Christians." 

During this discussion, I hastened to call the 
Hadjouti, and told him that Moussa pretended to 
have cut off the heads which he boasted of. 

"How," exclaimed the Hadjouti, "can you lend 
your ears to the words of that dog ? " 

"You say you cut off the heads of the three 
officers. Moussa, you lie. You cut off the heads 
of the Christians ! But you are a coward, a boaster. 
You fled as soon as we engaged the Christians. 
You fled, dog as you are ; it is true, before the 
battle, you boasted of your address and courage." 

The Hadjouti then, turning towards us, conti- 
nued in these words : 

" This deserter is a robber, and a braggart." 

" You should not speak thus/' cried Moussa, 
"if you were alone in the midst of a plain." 

"Why?" 

" Because my sabre should quickly impose si- 
lence." 

"Your sabre, wretch! — you shall not keep it 



248 



CHAPTER XIX. 



long. You are a robber and infamous fellow. Listen. 
He has told you he was going to the Sultan ?" 

" To his friend, Abd-eLKader." 

"To his friend! The Sultan summons him to 
give an account of the horse and bernou he gave 
him, and which he has sold. With the money 
he obtained for them, he bought wine in a house 
in Brida, and made himself drunk. Where is 
there a robber like Moussa ? 

" He said he had cut off four heads. He fled 
when he found himself opposed to the Christians. 
It is I who cut off the four heads, and, nevertheless, 
he wished to claim the price of them. 

"Where is the robber and villain like Moussa ?" 

" I will revenge myself, sooner or later," replied 
Moussa. 

"Out of our prison," cried the prisoners, " or 
we will save the chaous the trouble of inflicting the 
punishment your crimes deserve." 

Moussa wished to reply, but we joined the 
Arab, we overwhelmed him with reproaches, and 
compelled him to leave the prison. 

A few moments afterwards, a negro brought a 
letter from Moussa, containing these words : 

"As I do not wish a dog of a Christian like 
you to retain anything of a Mussulman, so great, 
so powerful, as I am, I command you to deliver up 
to the bearer of this letter the shirt I gave you yes- 
terday. I am going to seek my friend, Abd-el- 
Kader, and shall do my utmost to have your head 



HIS E1ND. 



249 



cut off, and, moreover, if I should not succeed, 
and you are exchanged, hope not to see your fa- 
mily, for orders are already given and arrange- 
ments made to carry you all off as soon as you have 
passed Boufarick. 

" I pledge you my word of honour. 

" Moussa, 

" General-in-Chief of the armies of the Sultan." 

On my return, General Rapatel showed me let- 
ters written by this singular being, and which he 
had signed Moussa, Lieutenant-General of the 
armies of Abd-el-Kader. 

This letter excited the mirth of my companions, 
and we burned the shirt reclaimed by this bandit 
with so much importance and haughtiness. 

We never saw him again ; but I learned a few 
days afterwards, from a deserter from the Spahis, 
who spoke French, that two soldiers of the Bey of 
Miliana were charged with conducting Moussa be- 
fore Abd-el-Kader. The Bey in his letter to the 
Sultan said, "This dog of a Christian has not only 
not cut off the heads which he boasts of having sent 
to Mascara, but also has sold the horse, bernou, 
and gun you had given him, and bought wine at 
Brida with the money. I have taken away his 
sabre, the only w r eapon he retained. He has other 
crimes to reproach himself with. I have ordered 
two chaous to drag him before you to render an 
account of his crimes, and in order that you may 
m 2 



250 



CHAPTER XIX. 



inflict on this dog of a Christian the punishment 
he deserves." With such a letter from the Bey, 
Moussa must have met his death in the camp of 
Abd-el-Kader, accused of falsehood, theft, and 
other misdeeds. 



CHAPTER XX. 



Cruel Condition of the Christian Deserters among the Arab 
Tribes. — Arrival of the Bey of Miliana. — Public Eejoicings. 
— Hote.' — The Bha3Iadan. — Consternation of the Prisoners. 
—Horrible Situation.— The Bey pays his Troops.— Promise 
of good treatment. — portrait of the bey.— arrival of the 
Jew Durand at AIiliana. — His Mission to the Sultan.— M. 
Lanternier. — The Bey's House. — His two Daughters. — 
Madame Laurent and Benedicto. — We leave aIiliana. 

The visit of Moussa had made a diversion in the 
painful reflections which constantly agitated our 
minds. We conversed of this adventurer long after 
his departure. His falsehoods, his effrontery, the 
laughable letter he had addressed to me, reclaiming 
the shirt I had not hesitated accepting in my dis- 
tress, preserved some gaiety in our discourse, until 
then impressed with such complete discouragement 
and painful melancholy. Still I could not help 
reflecting, soon after Moussa's departure, on the 
miserable and bloody end which his strange con- 
duct in the ranks of the French army, and among 
the Arabs, had brought him to. Moussa had 
doubtless flattered himself, that, in deserting, he 
could acquire with Abd-el-Kader the wealth, the 
importance, and celebrity, his restless and stirring 
mind urged him constantly to strive for. His bad 
habits, his daily debaucheries, his vices, fruit of 
an ill-directed imagination, had rendered him un- 



252 



CHAPTER XX. 



worthy of obtaining, in his regiment, the advance- 
ment bravery, zeal, and application are always 
sure of obtaining. The same causes, the same 
irregularities, cast him to the bottom of a still 
deeper abyss among the Arabs, whose assistance 
and hospitality he had claimed, and his strange 
conduct disgusted even these barbarians, to whom 
he had offered the assistance of his arm. 

Moussa must have been cruelly undeceived after 
a few hours' stay in the tents of our enemies. The 
same disappointment awaits all deserters. These 
unfortunate men expect to meet, on abandoning 
their colours, wealth, advancement, and consider- 
ation : they find only contempt and misery. Abd- 
el-Kader and all his officers have not the least 
consideration for deserters. The Sultan always 
begins by asking them what they intend to do, and 
offers to send them to Morocco, from whence they 
may reach the coasts of Spain. As they are 
deprived of all resources, they request to remain, 
and enrol themselves under the Sultan's standard. 
In the camp they heap insults and threats upon 
them, and often refuse them even the necessary 
food and clothing. Since the day when the Arabs, 
in a skirmish with our troops, fired at three de- 
serters they had placed in advance of their lines, 
and killed them, the deserters will no longer go to 
battle. They, in that case, drag their rags and 
hunger from tribe to tribe, from town to town, and 
at last die from fatigue and want. The reader need 
only call to mind the deserter from the foreign 
regiment. He has seen that those who chanced to 



CONDITION OF DESERTERS AMONG THE ARABS. 253 

be in the camp of the Sultan, situated at the gates 
of Mascara, preferred sharing our provisions and 
prison to accompanying Abd-el-Kader in his new 
expedition. They came to join us at Mascara, 
and had followed us to Miliana, and still our con- 
dition was one of the most severe and grievous. 

In general, the deserters are soldiers who escape 
to the Arabs to avoid the punishment which the 
crimes they have committed have rendered them 
liable to. If they knew the infamy, the misery 
with which the Arabs overwhelm the unfortunate 
men who take refuge in their tents, they would 
never, in the first place, commit a crime serious 
enough, and secondly, they would resign themselves 
to undergo the punishment to which they are con- 
condemned ; for, in avoiding one misfortune, they 
fall into a greater, and in flying from our army they 
disunite for ever (the exceptions are rare) the 
bonds which bound them to their country, and 
expose themselves voluntarily, in the midst of a 
strange and hostile country, to encounter death at 
every step. The refugee will in vain abjure Chris- 
tianity, shave his head,, wrap himself in a haick, 
speak Arabic ; and he will always hear these words 
resounding in his ears, which admirably express, 
and in a manner as short as energetic, the senti- 
ments of his hosts with regard to him — " D02: of a 
Christian !" Our condition, far from improving, 
grew worse from day to day. At last our guards 
announced to us the approaching arrival of the 
Bey. He was sure to return to Miliana, to pass 
the Rhamadan (the Easter of the Arabs). This 



254 



CHAPTER XX. 



intelligence revived our sunken courage, and we 
foresaw the moment of our deliverance. 

The report of cannon and musquetry informed 
us one morning that the Bey, Mahidin-el-Hadgj- 
el-Schir-Ben-Moubarek, was passing through the 
town on the return from his expedition, and pro- 
ceeding to his dwelling. "We shared, for an instant, 
the joy and satisfaction of the inhabitants. These 
salvos of artillery, and signs of rejoicing, made our 
hearts bound. We saluted, from the bottom of our 
dungeon, the Bey on his passage; for his presence 
put an end to our sufferings, and admitted hope 
and liberty into the prison, in which we stretched 
our arms towards him. Our joy was of short 
duration. We no longer heard the cannons or 
muskets celebrating the Bey's- welcome ; the mur- 
murs which reigned in the town gradually ceased, 
dying away at the foot of our prison wall; the 
bitterness and desolation banished for the moment 
quickly returned, more intense and more severely 
felt than ever. The Bey came not to visit his 
prisoners, and we sunk again into the dejection 
from which the news of his arrival had for an 
instant aroused us. 

Much has been said respecting the elevation of 
soul, of the nobleness, and of the generosity of the 
Arab chiefs and marabouts. I have often heard 
their exquisite sensibility boasted of, their wonderful 
politeness, their tact under circumstances most op- 
posite to their manners and religious education. 
All the accounts written on this subject are, alas ! 
but dreams ; or fictions arising rather from the 



THE BEY OF MILIANA. 



255 



favourable dispositions of the writers than from 
a careful observation of facts. Marabouts, Beys, 
Kaits, in spite of the words of Abd-el-Kader, so 
full of benevolence, in spite of his conduct, and 
expressions of anxiety and consideration for us, have 
only been prodigal of insults and threats towards 
us. The Sultan took pity on our hard fate ; the 
favourable condition of the Arabs at Marseilles 
affected him in a lively manner, and he was sincerely 
anxious to repay us for the kindness shown his 
captive subjects ; while the men who surrounded 
him forgot our misery, the remembrance of their 
countrymen, prisoners in a foreign land, never 
ceased heaping upon us the most cruel annoyances, 
and did not even fulfil the instructions the Sultan 
dictated to them in our presence. 

Thus the Bey of Miliana was informed of the 
project for our exchange; he knew the hard con- 
dition in which we were placed. He did not make 
a single step, he did not utter a single word, 
which could afford any alleviation to our misfor- 
tune, which became more unbearable as we ap- 
proached the term fixed for our deliverance. He 
cared little for our complaints and sighs, in return 
for the expressions of joy and thankfulness which 
the captives at Marseilles sent to the Sultan in 
proof of the care and good treatment shown them 
by the French ; we were, in his eyes, only dogs of 
Christians, and deserved neither help nor pity. A 
dungeon and death are all an Arab, in spite of his 
title and distinctions, conceives to be the lot of a 
dog of a Christian. And certainly, although I here 



256 



CHAPTER XX. 



state, in rather harsh terms, the brutality to which 
the Christian prisoners here are victims, it is not 
that I blame the humane attention paid by General 
Bugeaud to the Arabs sent to Marseilles. The 
conduct I have shown towards them, on passing 
through that town, will show the joy I experienced 
at these wise and mild measures adopted by the 
authorities; but in mentioning this brutality, it is 
that I am not able to repress a feeling of indignation 
which imperiously controls my recollections. 

These men, whose good qualities some philoso- 
phers boast of, are still far from equalling us. Con- 
sider, then, that, instead of tolerance, resignation, 
Christian charity, their prophet breathes hatred, 
vengeance, ruin against all those who bow not the 
head at these marvellous words, " God is God, and 
Mahomet is his frofhet t" 

Allowing, even for a moment, the intellectual 
and moral superiority of a few chiefs, can you 
believe they possess a spirit of virtue sufficiently 
powerful, sufficiently active, sufficiently inspiring, 
to move and convince these barbarous, warlike, 
and thieving hordes, who follow in their train, or 
disperse over the plains or mountains according to 
their fancy, or caprice of the moment ? 

And do you not think, on seeing the ignorance, 
the ferocity, the craftiness, the cupidity, do you not 
think, I say, that the chiefs must have become 
accustomed to associate with men still classed, in 
spite of the brilliant position they occupied in the 
world in ages now long gone by, in the lowest step 
of the social ladder ? 



THE RHAMADAN. 



257 



It is a difficult task to guide a nation, and it 
requires, in the times we live in, more than a rude 
and uncivilized genius to improve the physical and 
moral condition of a people ; it requires a firm 
and experienced hand to force it into the path of 
advancement, and to mark out. in the distant hori- 
zon, the point towards which they ought to direct 
all their efforts, all their passions, all their labours. 

The festival of the Rhamadan had caused the 
Bey's return to Miliana. This holy solemnity, far 
from rousing the pity of the Bey. found him in- 
different and forgetful of our misery. During the 
Rhamadan, the Arabs fast the whole day, and 
take no refreshment but at sunset, and two hours 
after midnight. Drummers pass through the town 
at two o'clock at night, and by the noise of their 
drums announce to the Faithful that they may take 
their repast. 

Our guards profited by the Rhamadan to cur- 
tail our dish of boiled barley; they replaced it 
with a cake which was to be divided between two 
prisoners. They often promised to bring us, at 
two o'clock in the morning, a good dish of cous- 
coussou ; for the abstinence we had to suffer be^an 
to affect our health severely. But if they chanced 
to have a dish of couscoussou to give us in the 
middle of the night, they did not take the trouble 
to enter our apartment ; they gently opened the 
door, and if we did not call to them, closed it 
again without noise, and hastened to devour the 
provisions destined for us. 

The snow and rain never ceased falling. The 



258 



CHAPTER XX. 



room we inhabited was so dark, that the absence of 
light deprived us of another relief and solace ; we 
could not even hunt the vermin, and we were 
covered with them from head to foot. We were 
all disconsolate. The greater number of the pri- 
soners were persuaded the Sultan had only sent us 
to Miliana to let us die of hunger and cold in the 
prisons of that town, and that we should never 
be restored to liberty ; for I may truly say, we had 
never been so exposed to such severe trials. 

Fleury, Bourgeois, Crescenso, the German, M. 
Lanternier, stretched on the ground, suffering from 
cold and fever, were no longer able to rise. In 
the midst of the obscurity which reigned in our 
chamber, were heard the moanings of these un- 
happy men. Crescenso never ceased groaning ; he 
spoke only of Genoa and the sea, which he should 
never revisit. The German, whose side was laid 
open by a wound, which, for want of dressing, had 
increased, uttered cries of pain. M. Lanternier 
continually uttered short exclamations; his respi- 
ration was difficult and compressed, accompanied 
by a continual rattling in the throat. He lost, for a 
time, in his delirium, the use of his reason ; and 
when the fever which preyed upon him became 
less intense, he only pronounced these words, " O 
my God !" In the evening, when they served the 
boiled barley, I opened the door of our room. The 
feeble light of the lamp of our guard lighted our 
dungeon, and by this pale and melancholy ray we 
ranged ourselves around our dish of barley. 

I had bought, with the two pieces of money 



OUR HORRIBLE SITUATION. 259 

given me by the Kait of Mascara, a wooden spoon; 
we messed together. I shared the use of my spoon 
with Francesco. When we were satisfied, we carried 
the dish to each of our sick ; for they could not 
even drag themselves to the middle of the room- 
Then, during the night, when the wind was high, 
I went into the court to collect the oranges blown 
from the branches of the largest tree by the 
violence of the tempest. I distributed them to the 
invalids, together with some fruit I had purchased 
with the remainder of my money ; and I used 
every care, all my endeavours, to repay these un- 
fortunate men for all the kind offices, all the atten- 
tion they had paid me during the long illness under 
which I had nearly sunk at Mascara, after the 
death of Me a rice. 

It is not rare, indeed, to find here below, in poor 
and half-ruined dwellings, hunger, cold, sickness, 
and death. Certainly we meet in towns great grief 
and dreadful suffering. Whatever form it may 
assume, death presents itself, pitiless and inflexible, 
in the camp as in the city, in the desert as in the 
fields, by the couch of the sick ; but still the suffer- 
ings and privations to which we were exposed were 
far more terrible and more severe. There was none 
to dry our tears. The horseman who finds on the 
way a man suffering from hunger or cold, offers 
his gourd, or casts his mantle ever his shoulders ; 
in the dungeon, charity, religion, visit the unhappy 
prisoner. But for us! our enemies were savage- 
they did not even understand our language ; misery 
and death, which had established themselves in our 



260 



CHAPTER XX. 



narrow prison, drew from them not even a glance ; 
our complaints caused them not even a sigh. I 
was surrounded by miserable beings, who, almost 
naked, upon the damp earth, without fire, with- 
out food, uttered mournful groans, and I had no 
means of relieving them, nothing to quench their 
thirst, nothing to satisfy their hunger, nothing to 
dress their wounds ; nothing, nothing ! I could 
not even whisper these words, so powerful for 
all in misfortune, so consoling for the afflicted, 
" Hope, return 1 country !" — for, at these words, 
the dying men, with a convulsive movement, rais- 
ing themselves, and fixing upon my eyes their 
dull and glassy stare, replied in blasphemies, and 
exclaimed, 

" Are we not then sufficiently unhappy ? we 
have been unworthily deceived. Will you attempt, 
at the last moments, to nurse a vain security in 
our minds ? Will you place before the graves which 
await our bodies hope, like a veil, to conceal the 
mournful spectacle from our view ? We are cold ; 
we are hungry. Satisfy the hunger which con- 
sumes us ; warm our benumbed limbs." 

Yes, whatever may be the time and place, even 
in the greatest misery, the afflicted find some con- 
solation. For us there was none ; we had nothing 
to expect from man, for he had exhausted his 
cruelty upon us; we had nothing to expect from 
God, for his name never passed our lips. Sincere 
and pious prayer, accompanied by faith and resig- 
nation, never descended into our prison ; she had 
never united us prostrate at her feet ; we had never 



PORTRAIT OF THE BEY. 



261 



seen her, raising her hands to heaven, and imploring, 
in her pure and consoling voice, the termination of 
our misery. 

Still such an occupation would have produced 
salutary and useful reflections in our minds. Ima- 
gine these twelve men enclosed in a dungeon 
scarcely large enough to contain them, covered 
with disease, vermin, and wounds, wasted by fa- 
mine, brutalized by cold and sufferings, only open- 
ing their mouths to pronounce a complaint or 
a blasphemy ; murmurs on their lips, but never 
resignation. Death unceasingly returned, . as the 
subject of our conversation, and the fear of it 
caused in our minds an agitation, a disquietude, 
under which the most robust constitution would, 
doubtless, have sunk. Since my return, I have 
made many reflections on all these horrible cir- 
cumstances; and I derive some consolation from 
knowing that Francesco and M. Lanternier, before 
they lost the use of their reason, both sincerely 
and conscientiously prayed to the Supreme Being. 

One morning they erected a canopy before the 
door of our prison ; they spread some beautiful 
carpets, and soon afterwards we saw the Bey arrive 
to pay his soldiers. The slaves placed at his feet 
a large round Morocco skin, covered with small 
circles of waxed cloth, upon which they emptied 
several bags of money. The soldiers were in the 
court, and each in his turn, on being called by his 
name, came for his pay. 

Mahidin-el-Hadgj-el-Schir-Ben-Moubarek, Bey 
of Miliana, is a man of forty years of age ; he is 



262 



CHAPTER XX. 



rather taller than Abd-el-Kader, his countenance 
long ; he has small eyes, thick lips, and a beard 
inclining to grey. The haick and the bernou he 
wore were blue and red, ornamented with ^old 
and silver tassels, and very beautiful; a •magni- 
ficent yataghan glittered in his belt. The officers, 
ranged by his side in a single line, had all breeches 
and red waistcoats, and red and white bernous. 
The cushion on which the Bey was seated, of 
worked silk, and of different colours, testified his 
luxury and his riches; this personage was sur- 
rounded by far greater splendour and wealth than 
the Sultan. 

I thought for a moment the Bey would take 
some notice of us ; but he did not even cast a single 
glance at our prison. I went out therefore to attract 
his attention ; I held in my hand the letters of 
General Rapatel : the Bey asked to see the papers. 
One of his soldiers, Andre Achmet, a deserter 
from the Spahis, who spoke French, acted as 
interpreter. I read my letters, and told him the 
Sultan had already read them. I explained the 
dreadful condition in which we had been allowed 
to remain, since our arrival at Miliana, and point- 
ed out how different the cruel treatment to which 
he had exposed us, was to the generous 
intentions of Abd-el-Kader. The Bey promised 
fairly ; he assured me our condition should be im- 
proved; he went out, and we obtained no relief; 
his benevolent protestations were never followed by 
any result. 

About this time we heard of the expedition 



M. DURAND. 



263 



against Constantine; rejoicings of every descrip- 
tion were celebrated for several days in the town. 
The Arabs pretended the French had had 4,000 
men killed, and had lost 20 pieces of cannon. 

In the mean while, the Jew Durand arrived at 
Miliana; he came to see us, and told me he had 
been sent by the governor to negociate our ex- 
change. He was going, he said, to Abd-el-Kader, 
for whom he had letters — he would return in fif- 
teen days, and on his passage he would conduct 
us to Algiers. The Arabs, on their part, pre- 
tended that M. Durand was going to Mascara, to 
agree with the Sultan upon the terms of a peace 
the French were anxious to conclude. This in- 
telligence, in addition to the unfortunate result 
of the expedition against Constantine, caused the 
Arabs a lively satisfaction; they thought our 
army reduced to extremity. The journey of M. 
Durand to Mascara, which would last fifteen days, 
afflicted us deeply. My companions, already very 
ill, gave way to the deepest despair. M. Lan- 
ternier entirely lost the use of his reason. 

I entreated M. Durand to send me a little 
money, to obtain some relief for our sick. 

" If I had thought of finding you," replied he, 
"thus unfortunate, I would have brought money 
with me ; but I only carry the sum necessary for 
the expenses of my journey. I will go and seek 
some of my own persuasion ; I will ask of them 
some pecuniary assistance, which I will hasten to 
hand over to you." 

A few hours afterwards, M. Durand sent us 



264 



CHAPTER XX. 



thirty-six loaves of white bread, some fruit, sweet- 
meats, and raisins. A Jew, a friend of his, 
brought us an immense teapot, with some cups 
and sugar. I commenced by pouring out tea for 
each of our invalids ; we then drank the remainder. 
We never saw M. Durand again; he had kept 
even the time of his departure secret, and did not 
send any money. The provisions and the tea sent 
us from him revived our half-exhausted strength. 
The importance in which I always saw M. Durand 
held by the French, the consideration and credit 
he enjoyed, had given rise to the conviction that he 
might be of the greatest service to us under such 
circumstances. Still the reserve he maintained in 
his discourse, his refusal of pecuniary assistance, 
w r hen, in our condition, the most trifling sum would 
have been of the greatest service to us, and have 
preserved some of us either from disease, which a 
day longer might become incurable, or from certain 
death, made me lose the favourable opinion I had 
entertained of M. Durand. It is impossible to be- 
lieve, allowing that he had with him only the 
money necessary for his journey, that he was un- 
able to borrow a trifling sum from the Jews settled 
at Miliana. In general these negociators are 
great promisers, and devoted servants to prosperity; 
address them in adversity, and you will rarely ob- 
obtain what you seek from their benevolence. 

The day after this visit, a Hadjouti came to an- 
nounce to me that we were about to set out, and 
proceed to the spot where the exchange was to 
take place. I did not trust to his words, for I en- 



DELIBERATION. 



265 



tirely confided in what M. Durand had said to me 
respecting our return. I thought M. Durand was 
likely to be better informed as to the intentions of 
the General and Arab chiefs, than a simple horse- 
man. Moreover, we had been so often deceived by 
false reports, that I treated with incredulity and 
distrust all the promises with which we were con- 
tinually flattered. I was wrong, however, in 
doubting the positive assurance of deliverance 
w r hich this Hadjouti gave me, for half-an-hour had 
scarcely elapsed, when they took the names of those 
who were to leave Miliana that same day. Ma- 
dame Laurent, M. Lanternier, Crescenso, Fran- 
cesco, Benedicto, and I, were directed to leave the 
prison, and quit Miliana. 

M. Lanternier, on learning the hour of our de- 
liverance was about to strike, experienced some 
relief; the fever decreased ; he succeeded in rais- 
ing his head ; but, alas ! the unfortunate man was 
unable to keep his legs, even when supported be- 
tween two of us. In the mean while, they led 
out a mule ; w r e succeeded in placing him on the 
saddle, but he had not sufficient strength to keep 
his seat, even with assistance. We were obliged 
to carry, him in our arms, and place him in the 
prison. The weather was dreadful ; it was cold, 
and thick snow never ceased falling. It was im- 
prudent to expose M. Lanternier to the severity of 
so bad a season; his weakness and illness suf- 
ficiently proved the impossibility of his bearing 
the fatigue of so difficult a journey. A moment 
of cruel deliberation then succeeded. Ought we 

N 



266 



CHAPTER XX. 



to take M. Lanternier, or leave him ? According 
to all appearances, his death might happen any 
moment, and if we carried him a short distance 
from Miliana, death would close his eyes. We 
should then have merely a corpse, which we should 
be compelled to leave on the way, without burial ; 
and, on the other hand, by leaving him at Miliana, 
another prisoner might obtain his liberty in his 
stead. 

We consulted together. During the discussion 
M. Lanternier seemed sunk in complete insensi- 
bility. He uttered not a cry, or a complaint. I 
I thought for a moment he was aware of the dan- 
ger there was in exposing him to such severe 
weather, and that he had sufficient resignation and 
strength to see us depart, without giving utterance 
to his despair and grief in mournful lamentations. 
M. Pic's servant was the most unwell after M. 
Lanternier. We decided he should depart instead 
of him ; for, in spite of the severity of his wound, 
he was able to scramble on the mule, and hold 
himself on without our assistance. 

We then had to think of separating from our 
companions in captivity. The prison door, which 
had just opened for us, was about to close upon 
them after our departure; and who could tell or 
foresee the day when it would again open, and 
allow them a free passage ? 

At the noise of our steps and adieux, M. Lan- 
ternier shook off the insensibility in which he had 
been plunged ; he filled the prison with his heart- 
rending cries. 



MONS. LATSTERNIER. 267 

''What! you are going to leave me. Oh, it is 
frightful — you wish my death, then ! I am so old 
and so ill. What have I done to you ? This is 
not what you promised me. My God ! and my 
wife and child ! M. France, my wife and child ! 
take me away — I must go — I am old, I tell you 
— my days are numbered. Abandon the com- 
panion of your captivity — him who has been ex- 
posed to the severest treatment of you all — leave 
him behind, when on the way home — an old man, 
the father of a family ? it is infamous. I thought 
you so good. For pity's sake take me. I have 
not many days to live ; but I shall, at least, em- 
brace my wife and child before I die. My God, 
come to my assistance !" 

And the other prisoners, their voices choked 
with sobs, with tears in their eyes, stretching their 
arms towards me — 

" Lieutenant, you are going ; do not forget us — 
you know our misery." 

" Have I not shared all your misfortunes ; have 
I not on my body the marks of suffering to which 
I have been exposed P Rely on me, I will paint 
your frightful condition, and use all my efforts to 
accomplish your deliverance." 

" Yes, yes, Lieutenant, we trust in you : tell the 
General the unhappy prisoners are exposed to cold 
and hunger ; that they are stretched on the earth, 
and have no fire. You will speak of us. The 
days are long here — there they pass quickly ; for 
misfortune counts not the hours. Tell him we are 
without bread, without fire, without clothing. Tell 



268 



CHAPTER XX. 



him it is very cold in the mountains. Forget not 
the poor prisoners." 

<( I must go, too, M. France/' exclaimed M. 
Lantern ier. 

"We all wish to set out," replied the other 
prisoners, " Lieutenant. Send us bread, shoes, 
shirts, cloaks. We shall not die here, shall we ? 
You will think of us on your arrival. You remem- 
ber M. Meurice died of cold ; Berthoumian also 
died of cold. For pity's sake do not forget us." 

And they continued their complaints, their tears, 
their supplications, until the guard closed the door 
of their dungeon. 

I heard the sighs, the stifled groans, the impre- 
cations, and, above all, and forming a still more 
mournful contrast, the hiccough and rattling of 
M. Lanternier, in his last agonies, advanced a few 
hours by his severe emotion ; and it was not with- 
out experiencing a contraction of the heart that I 
passed the threshold of my prison. I left so many 
unfortunates behind me ! My joy at leaving so 
frightful an abode was very great ; but still I did 
not experience that happiness I had so long hoped 
for, at the moment I should see the path of return 
open before me. The sorrows of the prisoners, 
the scene of desolation, the tears, the entreaties, 
the despair, had deeply afflicted me. Pensive and 
mournful, I turned my eyes from that abode of 
grief. I was about to depart from a town Mon- 
sieur Lanternier would never leave. I called to 
mind the words of the prisoners ; and I saw that 
our transit through the most remarkable places in 
the land of the Arabs had been marked by the 



DEPARTURE FROM MILIANA. 



269 



death of one of our companions. We had left a 
dead body in the places where we had passed our 
captivity, like a funeral mark, which indicated the 
spot where the Christian prisoners had dwelt. The 
corpse of Berthoumian was interred at Tekedemta 
— that of Men rice at Mascara. 

A few days after our departure, M. Lanternier 
sunk under his disease, and his remains were 
buried at the gates of Miliapa. 

We stopped before the house of the Bey ; the 
door was open. He was seated in his vestibule, 
upon a bench. He called to me, and recom- 
mended me to press General Rapatel to hasten the 
exchange of the prisoners who remained. 

" I wish/' said he, " three Arabs for one Chris- 
tian ; at this price I will leave the advanced posts 
unmolested for some time. If your Sultan refuses 
these conditions, the Hadjoutis and myself will 
never cease attacking your defences." 

" Your menaces," replied I, " will not influence 
the General to exchange the prisoners; for as to 
these threats, he despises them ; but as he does 
not wish the Christians to die An a prison, where 
they are treated in a horrible and unexampled 
manner, he will hasten the proposed exchange." 

u I recommend you to carry my words to the 
General, as I have pronounced them." 

" I promise to do so." 

I then asked Andre Achmet, who served as an 
interpreter, to see M. Durand ; I wished to borrow 
some money from him, and send assistance to my 
companions. I was not able to see him. He was, 
as I have already said, incognito. Madame Lau- 



270 



CHAPTER XX. 



rent and Benedicto awaited us before the Bey's 
house. Their condition had been very different 
from ours. They related to us the kind treatment 
they had experienced in that hospitable abode. 

The Bey has two charming daughters, and 
whose kindness of heart equals the grace and 
beauty of their countenances. These two young 
girls rose in the middle of the night, and brought 
food to Madame Laurent and Benedicto. They 
gave them silk 'kerchiefs, which were of great use 
to them during the journey, and which they 
wrapped round their heads. Madame Laurent 
often said to them she had no need of any thing, 
but doubtless we suffered numerous privations. 
These excellent women, then, sent us dishes of 
couscoussou, but the negroes w 7 ho were directed to 
bring them to us eat them, with our guards. I 
have seen one of these young girls; I know not if 
they have been to Algiers, but they are dressed 
with taste, elegance and richness. They wear 
diamond ear-rings and bracelets, and every thing 
on their persons, as in their dwelling, announces 
the influence the vicinity of Algiers must necessa- 
rily exercise on the town and country around the 
French advanced posts ; like the sun, in the spot 
where its rays fall, civilization developes in the 
place where its influence is felt the fruitful seeds of 
wealth and elegance. 

We mounted our mules ; Crescenso was obliged 
to follow on foot, and we passed through the town 
in the midst of the hootings of the population 
crowding round our path, and who exclaimed, 
" Ah ! the dogs of Christians are going" 



CHAPTER XXI. 



My Companions in Misfortune. — Meurice. — The Neighbourhood 
of Miliana. — Journey. — Bad Weather. — Halt for the Night. 
— Cruelty of the Arabs of the Tribes of Mitidja. — The 
Prayer of the True Believers. — Benedicto. — Vexation. — 
Projects of Kevenge. — The Wounded Man. — Night. — Jour- 
ney. — River. — Olive Grove. — Plain of Mitidja. — Magnifi- 
cent Panorama. — Arrival at Blida. — We are driven from 
the Town. — The Tribe of the Beni-Messaout. — Irons. — 
Expectation. — Our Hut and its Inhabitants.— Deception. — 
Return to Blida. 

We were on our return home. I had reached at 
last the termination of my captivity ; and this 
moment, looked forward to with so much impatience, 
did not excite in us the joy we had anticipated. 
Misfortune and disease had wasted the strength of 
Crescenso and Francesco ; their warm and lively 
imagination had been completely destroyed by the 
ill-treatment and anxiety they had so long endured. 
They had forgotten the sea, their vessels, Genoa, 
and their families ; they exhausted their little re- 
maining strength in complaints and reproaches; 
they thought of nothing but the sufferings of the 
moment; they only saw the fatigue and disease 
which had lamed their limbs; and grief, rather than 
joy, occupied all their thoughts. 

Benedicto wept; the poor child complained of 
cold, and never ceased inquiring for the children 
with whom he used to play in the streets of the 



272 



CHAPTER XXI. 



town, and his mother, whom he had, he said, left 
in the neighbourhood of Mascara. Madame Lau- 
rent's health was broken ; she had lost all her live- 
liness, and, like the two fishermen, only appeared 
sensible to the fatigues of the journey, and the 
severity of the weather. The servant of M. Pic 
never spoke of his master, whom he had left in the 
prison at Miliana ; the wound in his side caused 
him, at times, to utter piercing cries, and he fol- 
lowed our convoy mechanically : at every false 
step the mule made, which altered his seat on the 
saddle, his wound caused him acute pain. 

I followed sorrowfully the chief of our escort, 
and shared the general sadness ; still I was well 
enough in health, and in spite of the cold and snow, 
was able to bear the fatigue of the journey without 
running too great risk. But how changing is 
the heart of man ! The desires formed in one 
day, realized the next, are replaced by others as 
ardent, as unbounded as the first. I was sure of 
my approaching deliverance, and still my mind was 
absorbed by painful reflections. I returned with- 
out Meurice ; the death of this unfortunate man 
was a deep source of regret. 

The ties of blood, the friendship from infancy, 
have not the same influence over our affections, as 
intimacy contracted in the midst of misery and 
misfortune. For several months I had shared 
Meurice's carpet, upon which we stretched our 
hunger, disease, and sufferings. We conversed 
only of our fears, our grief, our hopes, our return 
to Algiers; we loved each other like brothers, we 



COMPANIONS IN MISFORTUNE. 



273 



anticipated, with such pleasure, our return to 
France, visiting our families together, and repeat- 
ing all the kind offices mutually conferred. I re- 
turned alone to Algiers ; I carried the news of his 
sufferings and death. I felt a void in my existence. 
How was I to present myself to his wife, and to 
his family P 

After Meurice, I thought of Berthoumian. This 
Italian, born under a warm and serene sky, young, 
robust, inured to fatigue by his labours as fisher- 
man, was buried in the snow of Tekedemta. What 
fatality had caused him thus to perish ? After Teke- 
demta, after Mascara, spots marked with their tombs, 
came the name of Miliana. I still heard the sup- 
plications, the tears, the grinding of the teeth of 
the unhappy men we had just left. M. Lanternier 
returned unceasingly to my recollection. His wife, 
his daughter, the horrible punishment he had 
endured at Droma, with the Sultan, at Mascara, 
presented themselves in lively colours. Poor man ! 
And Mardulin, that faithful and generous servant! 
As for him, I anticipated a change of fortune, and 
was in hopes his devotedness would find its recom- 
pense. 

In the midst of these reflections, we left Miliana 
by the western gate. In spite of the thick mist 
which obscured the atmosphere, and the snow 
which was falling around us, we distinguished, 
as we desended the mountain, a great number of 
fruit trees and pretty gardens. We found on our 
route several basins, some formed by nature, others 
built of stones, but almost all of them in bad con- 
N 2 



274 



CHAPTER XXI. 



dition. Subterranean aqueducts conducted the 
water, which was to supply the reservoirs of the 
surrounding gardens, and for the use of the horses 
and animals of the town. 

We travelled the whole day in the snow, along 
frightful roads, and over mountains covered with 
holm oaks, mastic trees, cypresses ; and halted for 
the night, at a tribe situated in the mountains 
which border the plain of Mitidja, on the west. 
The country in which we had just arrived seemed 
well cultivated, and the surrounding fields were 
covered with stubble. 

The chief who commanded our escort, an officer 
of the Bey of Miliana, conducted us to a hut built 
of mud, and covered with brambles. They lighted 
a large fire, and we dried our clothing, upon which 
the snow had never ceased falling the whole day. 

The Arabs of the neighbourhood, on the news 
of our arrival, came in crowds to visit us. They 
overwhelmed us with insults and blows. They 
compelled Benedicto to repeat their prayer : the 
child astonished them, by the the facility with which 
he expressed himself in their language. 

As soon as a fresh comer entered our hut, they 
made Benedicto recommence. The poor little fel- 
low must, without exaggeration, have repeated the 
prayer that night two hundred times. The Arabs 
paid the same attention, and experienced the same 
pleasure at each repetition. This gave me an 
idea of the stupidity of the Arabs — some say sim- 
plicity — I cannot express otherwise their admira- 
tion of so simple a thing. When they thought 



CRUELTY OF THE ARABS. 



270 



proper to allow Benedicto to rest, they began to 
torment us. 

" Repeat the prayer," said they, addressing me. 

" I do not know it." 

" And you ? " addressing Francesco. 

" I do not know it," 

tf The child then is wiser and greater than the 
men." 

" As it appears, the child is wiser than the men." 

"Dogs of Christians, repeat the prayer ! " 

" We do not know it." 

u Well, you shall learn it." 

And while they were thus speaking, they kicked 
and beat us with their sticks. 

Then turning towards Crescenso, 

" Pray to God and Mahomet." 

Crescenso, to escape their threats and blows, 
obeyed their wish, and recited the prayer. Fran- 
cesco and I knew it ; for it was impossible, with 
the worst inclination in the world, to avoid learning 
it, when we had the pleasure of hearing it recited 
three times every day and three times every night ; 
but I preferred enduring a few blows to perform- 
ing an act for the purpose of gratifying these bar- 
barians. 

The wounded man, whose sore was inflamed 
by the fatigue of the journey, was the first sub- 
jected to their annoyance. They gave him seve- 
ral kicks, and struck him with their sticks on 
his wound. The sufferer then started from his 
lethargy, uttered a piercing cry, and dragged him- 
self to the bottom of the hut. A few moments 



276 



CHAPTER XXI. 



afterwards, the Arabs returned to him and tor- 
mented him anew. 

We suffered a great deal, but did not dare to 
complain, for the Arabs were only seeking a pre- 
text for falling upon us and killing us on the spot ; 
and on the point of completing our captivity, we 
endeavoured, by every means, to avoid a subject for 
a quarrel. 

After waiting four hours, they brought us a dish 
of detestable couscoussou ; they refused us the 
honey and butter which we requested to dress the 
German's wound. And exposed to the wind and 
rain, for the mud walls of the hut were half in 
ruins, we stretched ourselves on the earth, and 
sought in sleep the forgetfulness of our sufferings. 

I was not able to sleep, being so tormented by 
my anxiety to recover my liberty. At the recol- 
lection of the barbarous treatment with which we 
had been annoyed the whole evening, with a rage 
and pertinacity nothing can exceed, I promised 
myself, in the first feeling of anger, on my arrival 
at Marseilles, to go with Francesco and Crescenso 
and visit the Arab prisoners lodged in that town, 
and return with interest the insults and blows we 
had received during our captivity, and even on the 
evening before our return to Algiers. 

6 "' Francesco, we must revenge ourselves on the 
Bedouins at Marseilles. " 

tc Yes, yes, Lieutenant ; these thieves have half 
killed me." 

"Bedouins, Lieutenant! but they are not men. 
We are making famous resolves ; but I fear we 



CONVERSATION WITH FRANCESCO. 



277 



shall never see them realized, for we shall not be 
exchanged. The Bedouins will take care we shall 
never be able to pursue our journey ; and we shall 
die here, like poor Berthoumian." 

a You are greatly changed, Francesco. Courage, 
resolution ! We shall sleep to-morrow at Boufa- 
rick — to-morrow we shall be free. My good fellow, 
do not torment yourself any longer — sleep. To- 
morrow good fortune will sit on the backs of our 
mules. " 

" I wish it as sincerely as you ; but I still dread 
the treason and deceit of these brigands. Who 
knows what may happen to-morrow ?" 

"To-morrow we shall sleep at Algiers, and will 
eat macaroni for our supper." 

" Speak not thus, Lieutenant ; you will kill me." 

"I repeat it — to-morrow we shall be at Algiers. 
We have reached the mountain which borders the 
plain of Mitidja." 

"I shall see Algiers again ! I shall see the sea 
and my ship ! How, I shall sail then to Genoa ? 
Oh, my God ! I cannot believe in such happiness. 
But Berthoumian is dead !" 

"Those who are dead are dead ; let us mourn 
their fate; but in order to escape a similar destiny, 
let us not allow ourselves to give way to fear and 
terror. To-morrow our sufferings will be merely 
a recollection. Good bye till to-morrow." 

"Till to-morrow; good night, lieutenant." 

Before day-break next morning we left this tribe, 
which had given us so unfavourable a reception, 
and started without breakfasting, on account of the 



278 



CHAPTER XXI. 



Rhamadan. We passed for three hours through 
an olive-grove, intersected in every direction by a 
river, having a rapid current, but not deep, which 
we crossed fifteen or twenty times; and by eleven 
o'clock we reached the plain of Mitidja. 

At this moment our guide stopped, and pointed 
out in the horizon the direction in which Algiers 
was situated. At this sight our hearts beat with 
hope and joy. The French settlements were 
before us ; a few hours' march and we should be 
free. A vast and brilliant panorama unrolled 
itself at our feet. 

Before us the plain of Mitidja, so rich and fer- 
tile, stretched itself out, covered with thick pas- 
turage and magnificent fields. In the distance, 
the outline of Algiers rose like an undefined 
shadow, which we followed with our eyes and our 
wishes; on our left the tomb of the Christian, 
and the mountain of Coleath, bounded the view. 
On our right, the Atlas, like a barrier between 
barbarism and civilization, raised its lofty and bare 
head to the skies. The plain of Mitidja lay at this 
giant's feet, like a mantle he had thrown from his 
shoulders, and covered with its green and fertile 
hue an immense extent of territory. At last, 
Blida, the Eden of this part of the world, with its 
elegant minarets, its white towers, its gardens and 
its trees, its orange trees, covered with fruit, and 
produced by a rich and powerful vegetation, 
resembling an immense imperial palace, was 
coquetishly placed at the foot of the mountain, the 



ARRIVAL AT BLIDA. 



279 



summit of which protected it against the fury of 
the storms. 

Nevertheless, fatigue and sickness had exhausted 
our strength. Crescenso could walk no longer; 
Francesco complained, and Benedicto cried from 
cold. The sight of Algiers had revived my courage. 
I gave my mule to Crescenso, my ha'ick to Fran- 
cesco, and I cried out in all the intoxication of 
joy — " I will make the remainder of the journey 
on foot." 

We crossed the plain of Mitidja; it was covered 
with water, and, in some places, up to the knees. 
My slippers were in a very bad state; I left them in 
the mud, and was obliged to continue my journey 
with naked feet. The weather was very bad ; the 
herds were in the tents. The plain presents the 
appearance of pasture land ; the borders are better 
cultivated. The tribes for the most part are situ- 
ated at the foot of the lesser Atlas. 

At last, after two hours' march in the mud, and 
over dreadful roads, we arrived at Blida by one 
o'clock. Our chief made us halt in an open space, 
at the gates of the town. He proceeded to find the 
Hakem (Governor named by the French). He 
soon returned; the Hakem was absent; he had 
gone to Boufarick to learn if the Arab prisoners 
had arrived for whom we were to be exchanged. 
He ordered us to enter the town, but the inhabit- 
ants opposed it obstinately, and with inconceivable 
fury. 

We were seated on the earth ; women, men, 



280 



CHAPTER XXI. 



children, spat upon us, and overwhelmed us with 
insults and blows. They reproached us with the 
burning of their gardens by our troops on their 
last expedition. They made us pay, with interest, 
for their few scorched trees, and we expected every 
instant to be strangled by the enraged populace. 
And, moreover, it was raining ; we were stretched 
on the ground, without protection, exposed to the 
severity of the season, covered with mud, exhausted 
with fatigue, suffering from hunger and acute 
pain. The sight of so many unfortunates groan- 
ing at their feet, instead of affecting the Arabs, 
increased their fury. At last, our chief took pity 
on us. He conducted us to an olive grove, about 
ten minutes' walk from the town, and we waited 
there for the Hakem of Blida for two hours. At 
last an Arab came to tell us the Hakem would not 
arrive until late, and that the Kai't of the Had- 
joutis ordered us to pass the night with a tribe of 
the Atlas. 

The Arabs of the town came again around us, 
and began to illtreat us. We suffered cruel an- 
guish. These continual disappointments, these 
hopes overthrown every moment, made us de- 
spair. Francesco cast a glance towards me, in 
which was expressed the deepest discouragement 
and despair. He seemed to say to me, " You see ; 
are we not destined to die? By a refinement of 
cruelty our torturers raise the corner of the veil 
which conceals from our sight the end towards 
which all our wishes, all our desires tend. The hope 
they have cast at intervals in our hearts resembles 



WE ARE DRIVEN FROM THE TOWN, 



281 



a spark, intended to revive the nearly extinguished 
light of life ; and when our eyes begin to gleam 
once more, our strength returns, and we are again 
enabled to stretch forth our arms towards our coun- 
try, and walk, they retract their pledged word, they 
break the last link which bound our existence to 
that of our countrymen, who have been so long 
expecting us. We shall never revisit Algiers ; we 
shall die here." 

Beneclicto also wept; he complained of cold and 
hunger, and wished to join the children of the 
town. At last our chief ordered us to rise, and 
start immediately. They brought one mule; it 
was only after urgent entreaties that we obtained 
two mules, the one for Madame Laurent, the other 
for the wounded German, who was obliged also to 
take Benedicto behind him. We set off from Blida. 

I was very much fatigued, but sustained by the 
hope of recovering my freedom, I walked with 
ardour, although my feet were bare. Crescenso 
and Francesco again sank into despondency. The 
cold affected them severely, and it was with great 
difficulty they were able to follow us. The Arab 
who guarded us was on horseback, and he never 
ceased striking the mules ; for we had to hasten, as 
he said, to pass the bad roads of the Atlas before 
the night. After a march, during which we had 
been exposed to the brutality of our guard, to all the 
difficulties of a rough and miry road, and to all the 
severity of the weather, we arrived at nightfall at 
a tribe of the Beni-Massaout, situated about half- 
way up the pass of the Atlas which leads to Medeath, 



282 



CHAPTER XXI. 



at the spot where the snow which falls during the 
winter remains a part of the year, and spreads 
itself in a frozen crust over the ridge of the Atlas. 

The Arab's first care was to place me in irons. 
I in vain protested my firm resolution not to 
attempt to escape; I in vain pointed to my bruised 
limbs and torn feet to show the impossibility of 
escape ; the Arab was as deaf to my reasoning as 
to my entreaties. The Kait of the Hadjouti had 
ordered him to take this precaution with me alone. 
At the sight of the iron which bound my feet, 
Francesco sunk into deep despair, and exclaimed, 
ci You see, Lieutenant, we shall not be exchanged. 
They wish us to die here ; for if they wished to 
restore us to liberty, they would not have driven 
us from Blida." 

The chief of our tent lighted a large fire, and 
upon the assurance we should set out early next 
morning, I sought to forget my irons. While we 
were waiting for the bean couscoussou the women 
were preparing, they gave us some acorn flour and 
boiled potatoes, round and very small. 

I passed a miserable night. At day-break I 
begged to set out. The Arab told me to wait. He 
unfastened my irons. Francesco was incessantly 
repeating we were destined to perish in this tribe 
of cold and hunger; but I did not give way to 
these mournful presentiments. I was convinced 
they would conduct us to Blida ; *for a young and 
and pretty woman, with small feet, delicate hands, 
and slender form, was that moment saddling a horse. i 

The Arab mounted this horse, and started with- 



TRIBE OF THE BEM-MESSAOUT. 



283 



out allowing us to follow him, saying he was going 
to Blida, to see if the Hakem had returned, and 
that he would soon send for us. 

The day rolled on in rain expectation ; the 
Arab did not return. I was sent with Crescenso 
to collect firewood. On my return I entreated the 
women to give me a little honey, or butter, to dress 
the German's wound, but was refused. 

The mud hut in which we were was inhabited 
by two men (one of whom appeared to be the 
father of the other), by three women, and several 
small children. The room was divided by a 
grating; on one side was the stable, which con- 
tained a horse, a mare and her foal, two cows and 
two calves (the owner possessed also another hut, 
which contained four oxen). "We occupied the 
other half, between this last apartment and the 
wall; three enormous jars, containing dried vege- 
tables, formed a kind of division, and contrived a 
third corner, in which slept the women and children. 

Thanks to the wood we had collected, we had 
a good fire during the night. I did not sleep, I 
was still in irons. We passed a part of the follow- 
ing day in the most painful anxiety ; we did not 
depart ; the sick became disconsolate, and we had 
nothing to dress the German's wound. 

Towards one o'clock, the chief of the hut an- 
nounced to us we were about to depart, and that 
we should proceed directly to Boufarick. We 
were six in number, and there was but one mule; 
Crescenso could scarcely walk, the other prisoners 
could not keep their legs. 



284 



CHAPTER XXI. 



The Arabs, far from attempting" to extricate us 
from this dilemma, struck us, and wished to compel 
us to walk. Madame Laurent mounted the mule, 
Benedicto placed himself behind her, we procured 
an ass for the wounded man, and set out. We had 
scarcely proceeded half a league, along frightful 
roads, and steep descents, when the German fell 
from his ass ; Francesco could advance no farther ; 
Madame Laurent nearly rolled a down a precipice. 
We halted, arid declared we could not proceed. 
The wind blew with violence, and the snow fell in 
large flakes. I exhorted these poor people not to 
be cast down ; I pictured to them our return to 
Algiers : they did not reply. An Arab, while we 
were resting ourselves, went to a neighbouring tribe 
and brought back with him a horse ; we abandoned 
the ass, and, after having lifted the German on 
the horse, and replaced Madame Laurent on her 
mule, we pursued our journey, obliged, neverthe- 
less, to rest ourselves every quarter of an hour. 
The Arab had taken Benedicto upon his horse. 
We arrived at Blida at last, exhausted with fatigue 
and wet to the skin. 

Instead of pursuing our journey to Boufarick, 
the Arab who conducted us made us halt. It 
caused us severe mortification, after so many pro- 
mises, to be compelled to enter Blida after our 
chief, from whence we had been repulsed with so 
much harshness two days previous. Another hope 
destroyed ! Another illusion broken ! Francesco 
cried with rage. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



The Hakem of Blida.— Generous Hospitality. — Care bestowed 
ox the Sick. — Reproaches. — Excellent Supper. — Conversa- 
tion. — The Marabout oe the Beni-Kelil. — The Marabout of 
the oxerrois. — the kait berkassenn, commandant of the 
Hadjoutis. — Evening. — Threats. — The Kait Berkassenn tries 
to persuade me to remain with the arabs. — promises. — 
Refusal. — Kindness of the Hakem. — Departure. — Arrival at 
Boufarick. — The Captain G-astu. — The Commandant of 
Erlong. — Jot. — Reception. — Departure. — Algiers. — My Com- 
panions in Captivity. — Return of Mardulin to Algiers. — 
Benedicto and his Mother. 

We passed through the town of Blida, followed by 
all the children, who, with insults and threats, 
cast mud upon our clothing. We were conducted 
to the quarter inhabited by the Kait, who had, at 
last, returned from Boufarick. They introduced us 
into the house, and we found him seated upon a 
bench, ranged along the wall of the corridor, 
which divided the house into two equal parts. 
The marabouts and the chiefs of the neighbouring 
tribes, whom the report of our arrival had drawn 
to Blida, were seated by his side. From thence 
we passed into a room, where we threw ourselves 
on the carpets, round a large earthen pan filled 
with fire. We had some bread and fruit to allay 
our hunger, and were at last able to take some 



286 CHAPTER XXIJ. 

repose, without being subjectedto any annoyances, 
and warm our limbs benumbed by the cold. 
Madame Laurent and Benedicto left us a moment 
afterwards, and were lodged in the house in which 
dwelt the wives of the Hakem. 

As soon as we were a little recovered, we thought 
of the poor German. I had some honey and 
butter brought, and dressed his wound; instead 
of cicatrising, the sore it had formed extended 
more and more over his side ; still he did not 
complain. 

After this attention paid to Monsieur Pic's ser- 
vant, I proceeded to rub Francesco. The cold 
had seized all the extremities of his body, and we 
had to guard against a worse attack. The fire, the 
food they had served us, the kindness with which 
we had been received in this abode, calmed the 
irritation of Francesco, and he only uttered occa- 
sional groans. Crescenso washed his bleeding 
feet, and rolled himself in a carpet to dry his 
clothes, wet through by the mud, snow, and rain. 

In the meanwhile, the fur-merchant of Blida, 
who had made the journey with us from Mascara 
to Miliana, came to tell me the Hakem wished to 
speak with me. 

As soon as I presented myself before him, I said 
to h;m — 

"What orders have you then given? On our 
arrival from Miliana, after a long and painful 
journey, covered with rags and disease, we are 
stopped at the gates of the town you govern, and 
the inhabitants have overwhelmed us with insults 



THE HAKEM OF BLIDA. 



287 



and blows, and have mercilessly driven us away." 

"I was not at that time in Blida." 

"Do the inhabitants of Blida not recognise 
your authority in your absence, and despise your 
orders ?" 

" I had gone to Boufarick." 

" You do not answer my question. After a long 
delay, during which we were exposed to all kinds 
of annoyances, they led us to a tribe of the moun- 
tains, to the Beni-Messaout. There I was put in 
irons. I do not understand how a Hakem, who 
calls himself the Christian's friend, since you ob- 
tain the authority you enjoy from their hands, can 
tolerate such cruelty towards French prisoners." 

" Here is the man," replied he, pointing to the 
Kait of the Hadjoutis, "here is the man who 
ordered that you should be put in irons for fear of 
escape." 

" I thank you," said I, addressing the Kait, f; for 
the precaution you have taken with respect to me." 
The Kait did not reply. 

The conversation began upon the power and 
projects of the Sultan, and upon the Governor of 
the French possessions in Africa. During this 
discourse, I remarked how distrustfully the Hakem 
expressed himself, and dreaded to express his 
thoughts openly before so numerous an auditory. 
Still, he several times renewed the assurance of 
the friendship he entertained for the Christians, 
adding, he had been to Boufarick to see the com- 
mandant of the Spahis, and that we should next 
day proceed to that town to join him. 



288 



CHAPTER XXII. 



I returned to our room and communicated this 
happy intelligence to my companions. 

The night had approached, and as it was the Rha- 
madan, the supper-hour had sounded ; meanwhile 
a chaou came to call me, and conducted me again 
to the apartments where the Hakem expected me. 
He was seated on a divan, covered with rich silk 
cushions. On his right was a marabout of the 
tribe of the Beni-Kelil, subject to the French, 
who had accompanied the Jew, Durand, to Mi- 
liana (I have never been able to learn the object 
of his mission). On the left of the Hakem the 
marabout of the Oxerrois, the most powerful of 
the Hadjoutis, and the Kait Berkassenn, com- 
mandant of the Hadjoutis, had taken their seats 
on the cushions. Rich and sumptuous carpets 
covered the ground. I seated myself opposite the 
Hakem, and the chaou who had brought me placed 
himself by my side. 

The room was heated by a large fire. 

The Hakem invited me to partake of his repast. 
A negro immediately brought a tray, which he 
placed at the feet of our host ; there were several 
dishes on the tray ; fowls, macaroni, hashed meat, 
but cooked in moulds, which gave it the form 
of little fish, formed altogether a most tempting 
sight. I entreated the Hakem not to forget my 
companions in misfortune, who were sick, and to 
send them some refreshment, principally oranges; 
for the poor fellows, on seeing the orange trees 
which surrounded Blicla, had expressed a desire to 
eat some of the fruit. The Hakem replied, he 



KINDNESS OF THE HAKEM. 



289 



would send tbem some couscoussou, some fruit, 
some bread, some oranges, and that they should 
be in want of nothing. I could have wished to 
have taken some macaroni to Francesco, but he 
was ill, and I dreaded an indigestion might aggra- 
vate the disease. 

When the slaves had carried away the dishes I 
have just mentioned, they replaced them by a 
mess of couscoussou which I found delicious. I 
then found that a dish of couscoussou, properly 
cooked, was an excellent meal ; I had never eaten 
any so good before. The Sultan's kitchen was 
far from equalling that of the Hakem. 

After the repast they brought each of the guests 
pipes and coffee, and we passed the evening in 
smoking, drinking coffee, and eating fritters with 
honey, similar to those we had eaten before, at 
the pastrycook's in Mascara. During the whole 
repast the Hakem never ceased telling me he was 
a friend of the Christians. 

'•'But you are also the friend of the Hadjoutes. 
with whom we are constantly at war," replied I. 

I am, it is true, the friend of the Hadjoutes, 
but I cannot break with them without serious in- 
convenience. Nevertheless, the Arabs reproach 
my fidelity and my attachment to the French, for 
they call me dog of a Christian/' 

'* Yes," exclaimed the savage Kait of the Had- 
joutes. " There are, in this assembly, three dogs of 
Christians, the Hakem of Blida, the marabout of 
the tribe of Ben-Kelil, and the prisoner. Among 
them are two of the faithful, two good Mussulmans, 
o 



290 



CHAPTER XXIT. 



the marabout of the Oxerrois and me, the Ka'it of 
the Hadjoutes." 

This vehement apostrophe excited the laughter 
of the Hakem, and this was his only reply. Al- 
though the tribe of the Beni-Kelil has submitted 
to the French, the marabout of that tribe can 
venture without fear among the Arabs, however 
cruel and violent the enemy may be among whom 
he is travelling ; he is threatened by no danger, 
for his title of hadj commands the respect and 
veneration of the true believers. 

At one o'clock at night, they served a fresh dish 
of couscoussou, but none of us eat any. The 
Hakem said to me with a smile, as he retired, 

"You will remain here: guard against those 
two Hadjoutes, who are also going to sleep in this 
room." 

I had remarked, on entering the room, a sabre 
and pistols. When the Hakem had retired, my 
eyes fell unintentionally upon these arms; they 
were near me, and the Ka'it perceived they had 
attracted my attention. Whether he dreaded 
some treachery, or from some other motive of 
which I am ignorant, as soon as the slave had 
distributed to each of us the carpets and cushions 
necessary for the night, he ordered him by a sign 
to give him his arms; the slave obeyed. The 
Ka'it showed them to me, and said, 

" This sabre and these pistols, on occasion, may 
serve against a dog of a Christian like thee." 

These menaces did not cause me any dread, for 
I was the Hakem's guest, and the man who has 



PROPOSAL OF THE KAIT BERKASSENN. 



291 



this title is sacred to every Arab, as long as 
he dwells under the roof he has selected for an 
asylum. 

The Kait placed his arms upon his cushion, I 
rolled myself in my carpet, and had scarcely laid 
my head on my pillow, when I fell profoundly 
asleep. 

I was awakened a few moments afterwards by 
the Kait ; he was seated near me, and said, 

"Remain with me; I have beautiful arms; my 
women are still more beautiful ; I have beautiful 
horses, guns, sabres, yataghans, pistols, powder, 
a great deal of powder. Remain with me. ; ' 

" No ; to-morrow I return to Algiers. Let me 
sleep 

"Come with me. Amongst the Hadjoutes a 
bold man obtains all he desires ; you will have 
strong and active horses ; you will have beautiful 
women, you may repose near them, upon rich 
carpets, under a magnificent tent.* They will give 
you ha'icks and bernous, manufactured at Kaala; 
they will bring you beautiful arms, yataghans, 
ornamented with pearl and coral, bright guns, well 
tempered swords, excellent pistols. Come to the 
Hadjoutes \" 

"No; to-morrow I return to Algiers. Let me 
sleep/' 

" You will have powder, a great deal of powder. 
Your greatness and power will be equal to mine. 
Follow me ; the women call you ; the horse awaits 
you ; the arms are hung on the pillars of the tent; 
rust has not yet touched them. Come to the Had- 



292 



CHAPTER XXII. 



joutes ! To the Hadjoutes ! You will be great; 
you will fire numerous shots ; you will be always 
in the saddle, and you will be constantly at war." 

" The Sultan has already proposed to me to 
remain in his camp ; his offers were as brilliant 
and as magnificent as yours — I refused them — I 
refuse again to day. I wish neither power nor 
command with Abd-el-Kader, or among the Had- 
joutes." 

"It is still time to change your mind; man is 
imprudent, and often repents having refused the 
proposals offered by a friend ; but then it is t6o 
late." 

" You know not, then, that the riches, the power 
you have at your command, and of which you 
boast so much, are only miserable trifles, which 
even the meanest Christian would not accept with- 
out exposing himself to severe disappointment. 

"What are then these Hadjoutes of whom you 
tell me ? You say, you know how to appreciate 
true greatness, courage, and daring; and did not 
Moussa, the Christian deserter, hold one of the 
most distinguished posts in your ranks ?" 

" Moussa is a coward and a liar ; he never had 
among us the power and the importance he boasts 
of. Moussa fled from the enemy, has robbed the 
Sultan, he has committed other crimes, and I 
expect, by this time, he has ceased to live. 

" Remain with us ; you are a brave man, a 
courageous soldier ; you will be soon recompensed ; 
you know not the glory and grandeur which awaits 
you; your fortune will be rapid; you will have 



DEPARTURE. 



293 



horses, arms, powder, women. To the Hadjoutes ! 
To the Hadjoutes !" 

" No ! Good night, let me sleep." 

Every half hour the slaves brought coffee ; the 
Kait never ceased the whole night exhorting me 
to remain among the Arabs; the day appeared, 
and he fell asleep. As for me, I expected the 
Hakem with impatience ; he had promised to come 
at an early hour ; at last, . at eight o'clock, he made 
his appearance. 

"I hope," said he, addressing me, "you will 
speak to the Governor of the manner in which I have 
received you. Are you satisfied with your host ?" 

" Very well satisfied." 

" Tell the Governor I treat thus all the Christians 
who arrive at Blida. Ask him to give me pay; my 
resources are limited, and I shall require his as- 
sistance." 

" When I shall have seen my companions, and 
have heard from them if they have been we41 
attended to, I promise you, if their answer is such 
as I hope, to tell the Governor what you have 
requested me to ask him." 

" Do not forget it ; for I have a great expenditure, 
and have no money." 

" I promise to carry your words to him." 

I rejoined our invalids : they were satisfied, and 
had passed a good night. Three mules waited 
before the door. Madame Laurent, the German, 
Francesco, with Benedicto, mounted their steeds; 
Crescenso and I proceeded on foot. The Hakem 
gave me an old pair of slippers. 



294 



CHAPTER XXII. 



This last journey was as laborious as could be. 
The rain fell in torrents \ Benedicto was cold and 
cried ; I suffered severely also. But how could I 
complain, when our advanced posts and Boufarick 
were visible before us ? We passed the first guard- 
house. The Captain alone, on account of the bad 
weather, came to see us pass. I squeezed his hand 
with a feeling of inexpressible joy. We marched 
on, and reached Boufarick. 

We passed across the market — we penetrated into 
the interior of the camp ; — and, full of happiness, 
the intoxication of joy, I threw myself into the arms 
of Captain Gastu, Lieutenant of the Aga of the 
Spahis, who had brought from Algiers the Arab 
prisoners in payment of our ransom. 

My pen here refuses to describe the joy, the 
pleasure, the satisfaction I experienced, after so 
many horrible sufferings. There are feelings we can- 
not express as strongly as we feel. I cast my arms 
round the necks of all the officers who drew near me. 

While they were carrying my companions to 
the canteens, where they hastened to render them 
every assistance, Captain Gastu conducted me to 
M. D'Erlong, Commandant of the Spahis. This 
noble and generous officer had had the attention to 
retard the hour of his breakfast, in order to invite 
me to partake of it. After the first moments of 
greeting, we seated ourselves at table. Whilst I 
was eating, the servants washed my feet, the officers 
of the Spahis and of the artillery came to see me, 
and each brought me clothing to replace the rags I 
had on my body. 



ARRIVAL AT BOUFARICK. 



295 



Will these worthy and generous officers permit 
me to express in how lively a manner I felt the 
care and attention they never ceased lavishing upon 
me, on my arrival at Boufarick ? They were the 
first, with the Commandant D'Erlong, and Captain 
Gastu, to console the prisoner — the first to tear 
from my body the livery of misery which had so 
long covered me. It is impossible for me to paint 
all my joy, all my gratitude, for the affectionate 
reception. Your heart, better than my pen, will 
tell you the happiness I must have felt on finding 
myself the object of such generous solicitude. 

I had cast off my rags ! I had embraced my 
brethren in arms ! I had returned to my own 
nation ! An officer had the kindness to lend me 
a horse. Francesco and Crescenso were too weak ; 
they carried them to the hospital. Madame Lau- 
rent, Benedicto, and I, set off with an escort of 
thirty men, commanded by Captain Gastu, and 
by nine o'clock at night we reached Algiers. 

Shall I prolong my tale ? No. After so hard a 
captivity, every thing is beautiful, every thing good. 
Shall I tell you I fell ill ? — that I received visits 
from officers of every department at Algiers ? — from 
M. Lafont every kind of service and assistance ? 
But you well know that, with us, generosity and 
benevolence are always ready to fly to the assist- 
ance of an unfortunate fellow being. I may ex- 
press every thing I could say in one word — I 
was free ! 

* * ■* $ 



296 



CHAPTER XXII. 



The Hakem of Blida had led away the Arab 
prisoners. Their dress and countenances formed 
a striking contrast with our rags and pale faces, 
worn out, as we were, with fatigue, hunger, and 
disease. 

Francesco, Madame Laurent, the German, and 
Crescenso, entered the hospital at Algiers; their 
illness, without causing serious fear, nevertheless 
required great care and . management. Berthou- 
mian had died at Tekedemta; Meurice at Mascara; 
M. Lanternier at Miliana. His wife and daughter, 
with the two German women, are, at this moment, 
with the Emperor of Morocco, to whom Abd-el- 
Kader had sent them as a present. Benedicto and 
I alone were able to move about. The other pri- 
soners have been restored to liberty. 

At Algiers I had obtained Mardulin's pardon, 
and I wrote to him the letter as agreed. This good 
and devoted servant had fled from Mascara with 
the orange merchants of Blida. One day, as he was 
leading horses to water in the neighbourhood of 
that town, he perceived a detachment of Spahis 
in the plain. He ran towards them, found an 
asylum in their ranks, and returned with them to 
Boufarick. They sent him to Oran, where he has 
been enrolled in a corps of Spahis. May this 
brave and generous soldier, to whom so many un- 
fortunate Christians owe their lives, by his good 
conduct, merit the esteem of his officers, and obtain 
a post which will secure him from want for the 
rest of his days ! 

At the moment I was on the point of embarking 



MY COMPANIONS IN CAPTIVITY. 



297 



for France, I heard a voice which called to me 
from the quay, " Good day, M. France." I turned 
round, and perceived Benedicto, dressed in new 
clothes. 

" Good day, Benedicto ; are you glad of your 
return to Algiers ? " 

" Oh yes, Sir ! I am very glad." 

" Where is your mother P" 

" My mother ? " replied he, smiling, " my 
mother ? she is waiting for me over there. It was 
she who sent me these fine clothes. I am going to 
embark with Francesco and Crescenso to see her." 

And while pronouncing these words, " She is 
waiting for me over there," the child no longer 
pointed to the tents of the Arabs, but turned to 
the shores of the Mediterranean, the waves of which 
rolled on to wash the coasts of Genoa, upon which 
is situated the village in which his mother dwells. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



The Arabs. — Manners. — Customs. — Character. — Arab Women. — 
Their Life.— Condition.— Deseases. — Hospitality. — Animals. 
—The Horse.— The Camel— The Mule.— The Ass.— The Ox.— 
Sheep — Goats.— Agriculture. — Temperature. 

There are numerous observations and details, which 
it is impossible to introduce into the middle of a 
narrative, as we run the risk of interrupting the 
recital, and scattering without fruit, in the flow of 
our narration, occurrences and remarks which, se- 
parate are of no value or interest; and which, if 
wisely arranged, and properly introduced, as to 
time and place, might lead to useful and important 
conclusions. 

I have therefore reserved until the conclusion of 
the history of my captivity, the observations I have 
collected during my stay among the Arabs. I 
have not entered intimately into a description of 
their life, except during the time I remained in 
Abd-el-Kader's camp ; for the remainder of the 
time I passed in the prisons of Mascara and 
Miliana. T shall also pass over all the facts 
which I am not able to substantiate from having 
been witness of, and shall content myself in men- 
tioning those in which I have been interested. 



300 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Thus the reader must not expect to read a regular 
dissertation on the manners and customs of the 
Arabs, preceded by moral and political remarks ; 
nor yet a discourse supported by texts and citations 
taken from the ancient authors, and from the monu- 
ments of Roman, Arabic, Moorish, and Spanish 
archaeology. It is a task I leave to others. It is 
easy to erect systems by our fireside, and make a 
display of the extent of a fanciful erudition. The 
man of action relates what he has seen and heard, 
and leaves his work incomplete rather than attempt 
to complete it by giving reality a rude check, and 
truth the lie. 

Moreover, in truth, instruction is now so general. 
Why then, turn over, for no purpose, the Roman 
annals, and present to the nineteenth century, as 
models to follow, the trials and systems which the 
people of antiquity made in their distant expe- 
ditions, and in the government of their colonies. 
I am certainly far from disputing the power of the 
Roman empire ; I can even recite, if necessary, the 
famous reflection of Virgil, 

" Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem;" 

but, in my opinion, the different forms of society 
which have gradually succeeded the Roman empire, 
for nineteen centuries, have made immense progress 
in every direction, and in every path open to human 
activity; and that we ought to find, in ourselves, 
sufficient strength and power to accomplish and 
succeed in the great labours which we have under- 
taken. When a single nation ruled the earth, when 



OBSERVATIONS. 



301 



its voice governed the universe, and its sword forced 
it to bow the head, under pain of extermination, 
the human race was weak. Education, the liber- 
ation of the slave, religion, had not as yet taught 
man all his dignity, all his importance; it w 7 as an 
easy thing to govern him. The times are changed. 
Ancient Rome, with its senate, its consuls, its 
generals, sleeps the sleep of death. Have not our 
savage and rude forefathers dug the tomb, and 
carried to the grave, that sovereign of the ancient 
world ; and have they not, after having placed 
their victorious seal upon her bier, seated their 
families and their God in the countries where she 
had exercised, for centuries, her depostic authority ? 

I avoid, then, any reflections belonging to the 
domain of historical and archaeological science. I 
believe in the worth of the men of our days. I 
have more confidence in their enlightenment, in 
their knowledge of every description, in their expe- 
rience, than in that of a Scipio ; and this doctrine 
presents a more noble, more generous, more becom- 
ing aspect, than that which consists in lessening 
men and events of our age to increase the import- 
ance of the men and events of antiquity. 

THE ARAB. 

From the age of four or five years, the Arab 
children are mounted on horseback, and guard the 
flocks. They have charge of the foals. Thus the 
first care of their parents is to favour the develop- 
ment of their constitution, and to strengthen it by 



302 



OBSERVATIONS. 



severe exercises, and employment which exposes 
them to the severities of the season. 

When they have acquired sufficient strength to 
handle a gun, without having reached a fixed age, 
these children enter the class of men, and have no 
other employment than tilling the earth and mak- 
ing war. 

The chief distinctive marks of the Arab character 
are his tastes ; his inclinations urge him to assume 
the profession of arms rather than apply himself 
to any other employment. His life is passed in one 
long hostility; a perpetual strife. Ambuscades, 
assaults, marches, battles, these are the first pictures 
which present themselves to the eyes of the child, 
and the emotions which this adventurous, noisy, 
and animated spectacle sows in his young heart, 
are too lively, too powerful, to be ever effaced. 

The Arab is generally tall, and his dress greatly 
assists in increasing the proportions of his figure. 
His complexion is pale and copper coloured ; his 
limbs are lean, long, and nervous. 

He shaves his head, but wears a moustache and 
beard. In spite of the vapour baths he takes when 
in the towns, and the bathing in the river, he is 
dirty and covered with lice. But he is so accus- 
tomed to the vermin, which spread themselves over 
his body and dress, that he never appears incom- 
moded by them, nor attempts to rid himself of 
them. 

The Arabs never spit in the fire. 
In every place where there are carpets, such as 
in houses and tents, they put off their slippers 



THE ARAB. 



303 



before entering, and walk with bare feet over the 
carpets. 

They never smoke in the presence of the holy 
marabouts — the Hadji. These pious personages 
must never smoke, and they are ordered not to 
appear in a spot where smokers are assembled. 

The Arabs are very affectionate among them- 
selves, and very particular in their testimony of 
friendship. Every time they meet they salute each 
other with many tokens of regard. 

Equals touch their hands, withdraw them, and 
reciprocally carry them to their mouths. 

The superior offers his hand to the inferior to 
kiss, and the latter attempts to embrace it, but the 
superior quickly withdraws it, and if the inferior 
has not been able to retain the hand, he contents 
himself with clasping his own. 

If he is a marabout, the Arab first attempts to 
kiss his hand, then to clasp the lappets of his 
haick. The marabout always pretends to embrace 
one of the lappets of his haick. 

The Arab of the desert leads a wandering life. 
He carries his tent according to his caprice, or the 
wants of those who surround him, to the spot he 
thinks most suitable for fixing his temporary abode ; 
and he leads a wild and rude existence in the midst 
of an uncultivated and uninhabited desert, taking 
with him his wives, his children, his horses, his 
camels, and his flocks. 

The Arabs of the coast live in fixed tents, and 
occupy certain portions of land. These lands are 
owned by those who work them, as they think fit; 



OBSERVATIONS. 



and cannot become the property of a new comer 
without agreement and purchase. The Arabs of 
the first range of the mountains of the Atlas, in 
the regions where the cold is severe, dwell in huts 
built of mud, and possess, like those on the coast, 
a certain determinate quantity of land. 

The greatest part of the inhabitants of the towns 
are Moors, and a few Coulouglis ; the remainder 
of the population, with the exception of a few 
Arabs, is composed of Jews. 

The Jewish people are to be found in all quarters 
of the globe ; the families of that nation, scattered 
over all the earth, have religiously preserved the 
manners and customs of their forefathers. It is a 
sublime monument raised to the memory of a man, 
the fidelity the Jews have always preserved in the 
observance of the laws which Moses gave their 
forefathers on their departure from Egypt. 

The Greek and Roman legislators have been 
talked of. Where are the gods of Greece or Rome ? 
Where are the sons of the pagans ? It is true, as 
the rhetoricians say, the gods of Homer have felt 
themselves eclipsed by our prosaic minds, and re- 
treated to Olympus. But their temples still remain, 
and the descendants of these great nations have 
forgotten their language and religion in slavery. 
The temples are still existing, but the edifices are 
silent ; the temple of Jerusalem is overthrown ; the 
capital of Judaism is occupied by the Turks, and 
for two thousand years this nation, dispersed among 
all the people of the earth, condemned from their 
birth to labour, contempt, vexations, misery, has 



MANSERS — CUSTOMS. 



305 



come down to our days with its laws, its customs, 
its God, and its religion. This race has never 
mixed with other people; it has never degenerated, 
and the children of Israel have preserved the fea- 
tures, the blood of their forefathers. Moses lives 
still in them in flesh and blood. These people — 
who speak their maternal tongue, who confess 
Jehovah, who wait without tiring the promise of 
their prophets, who form a single and immense 
family, of which the members are ever ready to fly 
to the assistance of a brother in distress — do they 
not present a beautiful, a magnificent spectacle ; 
and over this mass, which has no value or weight 
but by a single word, Jehovah, must we not admire 
Moses, the most beautiful, the sublimest character of 
ancient times ? Moses — whose will was sufficiently 
strong, whose life was powerful enough to form, 
to organise, and give existence to a nation, which 
for three thousand years, through the fall of the 
most flourishing empires, continues active, indus- 
trious, economical, and resigned ; at one time poor 
as the most miserable beggar, and again richer and 
more opulent than the most powerful monarchs ? 

The condition of the Jews among the Arabs is 
similar to that they lead among other people. Be- 
sides, I have said enough respecting this people 
during my capivity at Miliana. 

The wandering Arab considers himself greater, 
more noble than the citizen, whom he heartily 
despises. Thus the Sultan, Abci-el-Kader, tries, on 
every occasion, and by every possible means, to 
bring back the manners and the life of the Arabs 



306 



OBSERVATIONS. 



of the desert. Has not the prophet cast the seed 
of the divine word among these people, as un- 
settled and as simple as the patriarchial tribes ? 

The Arabs are very courageous when they have 
to attempt a coup-de-main; their impetuosity in 
the attack is unequalled. Like actors, who, in 
order to make a greater impression upon the minds 
of their audience, exaggerate their declamation and 
their attitudes, these barbarians flourish their sabres 
and their guns, wave their bernous, and charge 
upon their enemies with a savage outcry. They 
defy their adversaries from a distance by voice and 
gesture, like the heroes of Homer. 

According to the circumstances of the time and 
place, the Arab can be sober, frugal, of uncommon 
activity, or gluttonous and of unequalled drowsi- 
ness. He sets out for war, he takes only a little 
acorn flour in a corner of his haick, and behold 
him, day and night, coursing on his horse over 
the plains and mountains, enduring hunger, heat, 
cold, want of rest, and every species of danger and 
privation. 

On return from his expedition he will sleep, or 
remain in a drowsy state for whole days, and will 
eat with voracity. If he enters a tent, and the inha- 
bitants are engaged in taking their repast, without 
being invited, he will tear with his fingers a morsel 
of the meat and devour it. 

The Arabs are much attached to their children, 
and never cease caressing them. 

Their greatest pleasure, the amusement they 
most delight in, is burning powder. Thus, every 



CHARACTER. 



307 



time they have attempted to persuade me to 
remain with them, in the enumeration of the 
wealth which awaited me, and the delights re- 
served for me, they always repeated, " Powder ! 
much powder ! " 

The Arabs are greedy, thieves, deceivers, and 
liars. Those who surround Abd-el-Kader, and the 
Moors of the towns, are very strict in the observ- 
ance of the duties and ceremonies their religion 
imposes on them. They pray six times in the 
twenty-four hours, and, while repeating their 
prayers, always turn towards the east. 

The wandering tribes are far from being as 
devout and pious ; I even suspect they are very 
indifferent in this respect. The greater part com- 
mit acts, which the true believer considers as 
impious; and some of them, when the eyes of 
their chiefs are not upon them, are addicted to 
practices quite contrary to the spirit of the Koran. 

Ben-Faka for example, never fulfilled his de- 
votions, except when the presence of the Mara- 
bout, who visited our tent, compelled him ; and, 
to pay his court to Abd-el-Kader, he sometimes 
went, at the hour of prayer, to the Sultan's tent, 
to repeat his. 

On my arrival at Marseilles, I hastened to visit 
the Arab prisoners. I intended to make them 
expiate, in some measure, the cruelties I had 
endured among their brethren ; my hostile dis- 
position was soon changed to a kindly feeling. I 
related to them my misfortune and misery, and I 
saw with pleasure the humane manner in which 



308 



OBSERVATIONS. 



these unfortunate men were treated. They were 
well lodged, well fed, well clothed; they had 
also pay allowed them, with which they bought 
coffee and tobacco ; but, generally, they gave 
them the tobacco and coffee they demanded. 

They had also, in the theatre at Marseilles, 
placed two seats at their disposal every night. 
They go there in turns, and it is not one of their 
least agreeable amusements. They have often men- 
tioned it to me with delight and admiration. 

Mussulmans at a theatre ! 

I invited two of these Arabs to dinner. One of 
them was a marabout, and on account of the 
Rhamadan, he would not partake of my repast; 
the other accepted my invitation, and drank to me 
in brandy like a sailor. He was delighted with 
my conduct towards him. He immediately wrote 
to Abd-el-Kader to inform him of my generosity, 
and when he had finished his letter, he added : 

" If you ever come to my country, I will give 
you horses and sheep ; many sheep. You shall 
come to my tent, you shall be my guest. I will 
sleep during the night at your head, for no harm 
shall happen to you, and you shall be loaded with 
presents." 

I accompanied the Mussulman back to his bar- 
rack, and assisted him to bed, for he was tipsy. 

We may thus see, according to place and cir- 
cumstance, they do not appear to be such ardent 
disciples of the prophet. 

In a word, the Arab is wild, sober, intemperate, 
bold, avaricious, improvident, deceitful, ignorant; 



ARAB WOMEN. 



309 



but be comprehends all tbe efforts made to improve 
his condition, particularly as to his physical wants. 
He is clearly aware of the ruins which the war 
heaps up around him, and perfectly understands 
the riches the " dogs of Christians" bring him. 

The ambition of a single man opposes a nearer 
connexion, equally desired by both parties so long 
in a state of warfare, and of which the advance- 
ment, whether in the defensive or in the offensive, 
varies so little. What firm and powerful hand 
will close this abyss, in which the wealth, acti- 
vity, health, and life of so many men are being 
swallowed up, and will give either peace or de- 
struction to these people, wearied themselves of so 
deplorable a state of affairs ? 

THE ARAB WOMEN. 
Whilst the men remain stretched before their 
tents, smoking in the sun, or skirmishing over the 
mountains and plains, the women are continually 
engaged with their domestic duties and their labour 
in the fields. They have the care of the tent, they 
grind the corn, knead the cakes, cook them, 
prepare the couscoussou, attend to the poultry, 
manufacture hai'cks on a small frame, sweep the 
dung from the stable, saddle the horses, and collect 
the harvest. 

They have beautiful eyes, their complexion pale 
and copper-coloured ; those considered the hand- 
somest are strong, lusty, and powerful. 

Their dress consists of chemise and a ha'ick. 

They walk bare-footed, wear copper rings on 



310 



OBSERVATIONS. 



the wrist, and above the swelling of the ancle. I 
have seen some whose ears were adorned with 
three pair of coral ear-rings : one at the bottom, 
the other in the middle, and the third in the extre- 
mity of the ear; in addition, necklaces, formed of 
seraglio pastil, surround the neck. They cut their 
hair, but, nevertheless, allow a few locks to fall 
over their temples in the form of curls. They 
stain their nails and hands black and red, as also 
their eyebrows; they tattoo their foreheads, temples, 
and cheeks, in stars. The negro women especially 
have their faces slit with cuts of the razor; they 
are careful to make similar cuts in the cheeks of 
their children, whether male or female, in order to 
know them ; each tribe among the negroes has its 
distinguishing mark. Man is the master, woman 
the slave; she is never consulted. The Arabs 
thought it very extraordinary Meurice should write 
to his wife, and that his wife answered his letters. 
The women belonging to wealthy husbands learn 
to read and write. They suckle their children and 
carry them on their backs, in the folds of their 
haick. Those whose health forbids them nursing 
their children themselves, confide them to negro 
women. They stain their children's hair red. They 
sleep in a corner of the tent, separated from the 
men by a haick, which forms a partition. 

The condition of the women in this country may 
be expressed in one word — she is a slave. 

THE HOSPITALITY OF THE ARABS. 
The feeling of hospitality is natural to a wan- 



THE HOSPITALITY OF THE ARABS. 311 

dering people ; those who pass their life in moving 
about often find themselves exposed, in unknown 
districts, to every hardship to which man is liable 
when he leaves the spot he inhabits. Thus arises 
amongst them the necessity of being received, and 
the desire of returning the same service to such of the 
brethren as may chance to be in a similar situation. 

The Arabs undertake long pilgrimages ; every 
believer must go once to Mecca. These travellers, 
during so long a journey, doubtless often suffer 
great privations in unknown and desert countries. 
The sight of a tent revives their strength and 
inspires hope. They salute their hosts, and pro- 
mise themselves to exercise similar conduct when 
an occasion should offer. Formerly, at certain 
distances, priests inhabited houses called mara- 
bouts, in which the traveller always found an 
asylum during his journeys or pilgrimages. 
* The greatest part of these edifices are in ruins, 
abandoned, or destroyed. The travellers now seek 
hospitality in the tents of tribes they pass through. 
They are greeted with the most noble, most cordial, 
most generous reception, and the stranger (the 
Arab) is provided with every thing during his stay. 

DISEASES. 
The Turk Toussis, who had studied medicine at 
Tunis, and whose qualifications and science the 
reader has been able to appreciate, is the only 
doctor I have met with. He is established at Mas- 
cara. The Arabs pay no attention to their sick ; 
they only stain beneath the eyes of the patient 



312 



OBSERVATIONS. 



black, with blacklead, the eyelashes and nails red. 
As soon as a man finds himself unwell they make 
him eat a great deal. 

They often brought sick men to our tent. 

" Why do you not nurse them ?" said I to 
Ben-Faka. 

" He must die," replied he. " It is Mahomet 
who wills it ; we must let him die." 

The Arabs are subject to sore eyes, and rheu- 
matic pains in the limbs. 

They bathe frequently, both in the river and in 
vapour baths, according to the season. 

In spite of their fatalism, they have faith in 
medicine, and thought themselves very fortunate 
at having Christian doctors amongst them. We 
have seen the confidence they had in the medical 
experience of Mardulin, and it is to his title of 
doctor that Clinchard owed his life and the blows 
which, however, nearly deprived him of it. 

ANIMALS. 
The horse does not work before he is three years 
old. At this age he is mounted by children. He 
is destined for war, but the mares are reserved for 
breeding. 

The Arabs only crop the hair until they are six 
years old; after this time they allow it to grow. 
Old horses are distinguished by magnificent manes 
and tails. 

The horses are of the middle size, rather small 
than large ; their form is lean and strong ; they 
live entirely upon barley and straw ; they drink 



ANIMALS. 



313 



once a day, receive no attention, and remain ex- 
posed night and day, before the tent, to cold, heat, 
or rain. Those belonging to wealthy chiefs have 
the fore-feet shod. They live constantly with man, 
whose faithful companions they are, and this con- 
tinuance of association renders them very docile ; 
they never kick. 

One day, a horse of Abd-el-Kader's succeeded 
in getting loose. He galloped and caracoled 
through the camp with fierce impetuosity ; the 
Arabs formed a circle round him; the animal 
reared up, neighed, and appeared furious; but a 
horseman sprung on his back, when the Arabs 
immediately dispersed, and the horse, become gentle 
and submissive, was quietly led back to its place, 
and its feet tied. 

The old horses, when no longer serviceable for 
war, draw the plough in the fields, together with 
the oxen. 

Camels. — There are very few camels in the pro- 
vince of Oran. These animals are serviceable pnly 
during expeditions in the desert, and are of very 
little use in the mountains. They remain three 
or four days without eating, and are very particular 
in their food. Thus, in some places, such as Teke- 
demta, they find nothing for them to eat. Wealthy 
individuals have camels to transport their baggage. 
The caravans are not nearly so numerous as they 
formerly were ; it is a rare occurrence for one of 
them to be formed. 

Mules. — They carry the baggage ; they are small 
sorry animals, and injured by hard work. 

p 



314 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Asses. — They carry provisions to market; they 
are generally very small. 

Oxen. — The Arabs make use of these animals for 
working and carrying burthens. They are very 
small and lean ; they work along with mules or old 
horses, bound two-and-two. The extremity of the 
plough, the share of which is of wood, is fastened 
to a pole which passes under the belly of the animal, 
and to which are attached traces which are fixed 
to the horns of the ox, or to the neck of the horse. 

Sheep, Goats. — These animals are very nume- 
rous, but I have not seen any very fine fleeces. 
The goat-skins are made into bottles, in which 
they keep butter, oil, and water. The Arabs pre- 
serve skins very badly, and send them to Blida 
and Morocco, where more skilful tanners prepare 
them better. 

AGRICULTURE, TEMPERATURE. 

The Arabs have a great quantity of land at 
their disposal, but they till it very badly, only 
giving it a single turn over. When they meet a 
palm tree, or brambles, they mark out a circle 
round the obstacle. They cultivate wheat and 
barley, but grow very few vegetables, and those 
only in their season. 

During my stay it was the time for radishes and 
turnips. They have peas, beans, potatoes, onions, 
garlic, and a great quantity of pimento. 

Many fruit trees are cultivated in the gardens 
round the towns, and cucumbers, gourds, water 
melons, and melons, are in abundance. 



THE SULTAN. 



315 



The grass is eaten by the horses. 

The greatest part of the country is uncultivated 
and uninhabited, but beautiful plains are to be 
met with. The most beautiful and fertile spot is 
on the banks of the Ouet-Mina. 

The winter is rainy. The excessive heat of the 
summer quickly dries up the rivulets, and the 
waters which cover the plains. 

The nights are always very cool and damp. 
In my opinion this dampness and cold are very 
unfavourable to the cultivation of sugar, cotton, 
coffee, indigo, &c. ; these colonial productions, at 
the most, would only grow on the sea coast, and 
in a few of the plains. 

The climate of this country has a great similarity 
to that of the southern provinces of France, where 
we see lofty mountains, the summits of which are 
covered with snow, even during the hottest part of 
the summer. 

In the mountains the temperature is very severe. 
Meurice and Berthoumian both died of cold. 

The Arabs are subject to rheumatic pains, in 
consequence of the damp and cold. 

In our journey from Miliaria to Blida, we passed 
through a wood of magnificent olive trees. They 
might obtain a great quantity of oil in this country. 

THE SULTAN, 

SIDI-L' HADJ-ABD-EL-KADER-MAHID1N. 

The judgment formed respecting the Sultan 
seems to be greatly exaggerated. They wish to 



316 



OBSERVATIONS. 



represent Abd-el-Kader as a great man, a hero 
endowed with the most brilliant qualities. Let us 
endeavour to present his portrait in its true colours, 
and in a more suitable light. 

Abd-el-Kader is of the Arab race, of the tribe 
of the Hachem. This tribe is situated to the 
south of Mascara ; it is one of the most impor- 
tant, and possesses large flocks. A part of the 
plain, a garden, and a marabout, belong to the 
Sultan individually. His three brothers, whom I 
have seen, and of whom the youngest is ten years 
old, and also his wife, dwell in this place. 

The Sultan is still very young, and his uncle 
contests and disputes his authority. Nevertheless, 
in spite of his youth, and the embarrassment his 
uncle's rebellion causes him, and the disasters ex- 
perienced from the French troops, Abd-el-Kader 
has established his power among the Arabs on a 
solid basis. The peace he has succeeded in esta- 
blishing has not contributed a little to raise the 
ruins of his party, and to increase his influence 
among his partizans. 

The Sultan has given proofs of courage in the 
earlier engagements he sustained against our troops. 
Since then he always remains at the distance of 
half a league from the fight. In spite of this 
inaction, which doubtlessly arises from prudence, 
the Arabs do not doubt his courage. 

He was aware he was the only man capable of 
rallying the tribes, dispersed and frightened by the 
terror of our arms. He has raised himself as the 
standard around which the Arab nation should 



THE SULTAN. 



317 



collect, threatened by the conquerors of the Bey 
of Algiers, not with destruction, as he thinks, but 
with important modifications. Has Abd-el-Kader 
a sufficient force at his command to accomplish the 
work of resistance, to unite the tribes, to defend and 
dispute, foot by foot, the countries he is anxious 
to bring under his authority, after the defeat of the 
European invaders ? 

I shall reply no, to each of these questions. 

His coffers are empty. The tribes who consent 
to pay impost pay very reluctantly. His pecuniary 
resources are almost nominal. His magazines con- 
tain neither clothing, guns, sabres, nor powder 
sufficient to equip and arm his troops. Our soldiers 
have killed many of their horses, and they must wait 
at least four years before a young horse is of any 
service. 

If occasional convoys from Morocco bring sup- 
plies of every description to his camp, they are 
very poor assistance compared to the immense 
expenditure caused by a permanent war. 

In order to succeed in the enterprise he has 
conceived, and of which he pursues the plan with 
intelligence and activity, Abd-el-Kader success- 
fully employs the qualities with which he has been 
endowed by Heaven, and turns them to the very 
best advantage. 

The pride, ambition, the thirst for power and 
rule, supported by the force of his will, his ad- 
dress, his cunning, his religious devotion, are the 
only arms the Sultan uses in the war he maintains 
against the Christians, and which he represents to 



318 



OBSERVATIONS. 



his subjects as a crusade, formed for the purpose 
of repulsing the enemies of Mahomet and the true 
believers. 

Abd-el-Kader presents himself before his people, 
simple in his dress, frugal in his food, austere in 
his manners, rigid in his devotions, crafty in his 
negociations, noble and proud on horseback, just 
and inflexible in pronouncing judgment, a de- 
clared enemy of the Christians, leading a wander- 
ing life, like the shepherd people from whom the 
tribes are sprung; and the Arab, before the ensemble 
of these qualities, of these habits, of this conduct, 
so excellent in the eyes of Mahomet, bows his 
head and follows, as if urged by the hand of the 
prophet — this man who hurries him to battle, after 
having comprehended and flattered in a wonderful 
manner his instinct and his passions. 

Afterwards, when the French batallions defile 
in the plain, Abd-el-Kader, with his fifteen hun- 
dred paid troops, dragging with him a force of 
eighteen or twenty thousand Arabs, dashes from 
the mountains, watching a favourable opportunity 
to fall on the rear of his enemies. 

After a coup-de-main, executed with boldness 
and impetuosity, the Arabs regain their inaccessible 
defiles, and wait a favourable opportunity for a 
fresh attack. 

If the Sultan is poor, his troops do not require 
money ; if the Sultan has no provisions, his sol- 
diers will eat acorn flour ; if the season is bad, the 
men and horses will endure, with impunity, the 
severest trials. Thus the enemy resists our reite- 



THE SULTAN. 



319 



rated attacks by his frugality, his audacity, and, 
above all, by his rapid flight, which it is impossible 
either to foresee or stop. 

The Arab is not to be caught; the Sultan is 
aware of this advantage, and this is his motive 
for prolonging the war. If you wish to conquer, 
arrive at, and destroy him, employ an imposing 
force, send large bodies of cavalry, and, above all, 
grant neither truce nor rest to your enemy. Harass 
him unceasingly ; have troops in reserve, and as 
soon as one expedition has returned, send out 
another. It is not a war of extermination, but a 
war which should lead to a complete submission. 

Abd-el-Kader always told me he should succeed 
in driving away the French ; but the Arabs are 
tired of the war, and at the first report of a peace 
give way to rejoicings, which plainly show their 
impatience and their desire of obtaining it. 

Thus, so far, Abd-el-Kader only owes his per- 
sonal superiority to the disposition he possessed at 
his birth. His mind is not cultivated, as has been 
said. He is an ignorant man ; he is acquainted 
with the Koran, but he has never studied either 
literature, philosophy, or the sciences. He might 
have derived some advantage from his pilgrimage 
to Mecca, but he was only eight years of age when 
he accomplished this pious undertaking. 

I told him of our Government, of the King, of 
the Chamber of Peers, of the Deputies, but he 
never understood a single word I said respecting 
them ; he could not conceive the routine of our 
administration. He always looked upon it as a 



320 



OBSERVATIONS. 



despotic government. Nevertheless, he is ge- 
nerous and good, and is far more enlightened, and 
possesses better qualities, than the men who sur- 
round him. 

He would never go to Oran during the peace, 
for fear of compromising his sanctity among the 
Arabs. Milloud-Ben-Harrach, commandant of 
the cavalry, is his intimate friend; it is he whom 
he has sent to our quarters to negociate the peace. 
His principal secretary, a fanatic of the last degree, 
detesting the Christians even to absurdity, but 
nevertheless an intelligent man, has a great deal 
of influence over him. Ben-About and Ben-Faka 
are the two followers on whom he can rely the most. 

He no longer advises the death of the French 
soldiers, but demands prisoners. 

One day I attempted to strengthen him in this 
feeling. 

" You should make prisoners; for if they obtained 
possession of a marabout, you would not have 
sufficient French prisoners for his ransom, if they 
should be required." 

6 e What matter ! I could buy them with money 
" The French do not sell men. And moreover, 
you are not rich ; it is your interest to make pri- 
soners/ ' 

"But the Christians have only a few Arabs; I 
wish to take a General." 

" If you succeed in obtaining possession of a 
General, what will you say ?" 

" I shall say, I require for his ransom Oran, or 
Bona, or Algiers, or Mousthaganem." 



THE SULTAN. 



321 



" Admitted they would allow you one of these 
towns, what would be the result ? w 
" I should have a town." 

" The next day they would drive you from it, as 
they drove from Algiers the Bey who reigned 
there." 

Abd-el-Kader also raises the courage of his 
troops by false intelligence, which his emissaries 
spread through the country. The most absurd 
reports are joyfully received. 

His spies swarm in our posts ; he is informed of 
all our projects and all our movements. 

It is difficult to contend with an enemy who has 
such advantages on his side. The Arabs know 
the number of our forces, our power, our re- 
sources, our valour. The Arabs also appreciate 
the advantages we bring them. 

On one side, a talented, courageous, but ambi- 
tious man, in a mountainous country, sum- 
moning around him the tribes surrounded by the 
ruins and the desolation, which both foreign and 
civil wars scatter over the soil. On the other 
side, a wealthy, powerful, civilized nation, calling 
them to her, and offering them, in return for their 
friendship and fidelity, riches, prosperity, and all 
the advantages to be derived from civilization. 

After these observations, we may easily see the 
point to which all the efforts of our arms and of 
our policy ought to be directed. 



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4 



